


The Raven and the Writing-Desk

by OoOMagnoliaOoO



Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Alice in Wonderland References, Amorality, Brotherhood of Steel - Freeform, Crazy FSS, Daddy maxson, Eventual Smut, F/M, Feminist Alice XD You go girl!, Fucked Up, If You Squint - Freeform, M/M, Madness, Mercenary FSS, Multi, Non relationship MSS/FSS, Rough Sex, Slow Burn, Sucidal elements, Widower Arthur Maxson, homicidal, lol, sociopathic tendencies, twisted sense of humor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-31
Updated: 2017-08-02
Packaged: 2018-10-13 08:04:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 58,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10509696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OoOMagnoliaOoO/pseuds/OoOMagnoliaOoO
Summary: The first time Nathan Priors sees the new world, he’s convinced he’s gone mad. The first time the shadow known as “Alice” sees the world in ashes, she fears it’s finally starting to make sense. Both of them are searching for something that they’ve lost, digging through endless pits of fire and ice, but what they meet along the way, is nothing they’re ever met before, forcing them to come to a grim realization.“We’re all mad here”Currently being revised/edited/re-written.





	1. The Knight and the Detective.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [JayceCarter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JayceCarter/gifts).



Nate couldn’t believe his eyes when the world finally came into view before his eyes, the brightness of the sun burning his stinging eyes and casting reflections off his golden wedding band.

The scorched earth, the barren wasteland petrified and dry and the sky a sickly shade of gray, listless and void of all life. Trees that had once been green and filled with leafs were now just as dry as the ground and crooked from the sheer force of the blast. 

_ Nora _

Memories of his young, bubbly wife were all ruined by that moment… the moment where the sick twisted creature had taken her from this world and into the next, stealing away from him the two people he loved the most. 

_ Nora _

Nathan knew, though he didn’t want to believe it, that a long time must have passed in order for the scientists inside that ratchet vault to become nothing but bones inside white pristine lab coats and for cockroaches to grow from small little pestering nuisances into actual problems. 

_ Years _

Before him was the one place he could ever consider to be his home, broken and brown. From atop the hill where he stood, the world was nothing but an endless string of things that made no sense, from the giants flies in the distance to the broken blue and yellow houses rusted beyond repair. 

This was the reality now… the damage that had been caused was irreversible. 

To think they had been making Halloween preparations not ten minutes before all of this had happened. That morning he’d been prepping for his big speech, putting the finishing touches into place when the news had struck. 

_ “Confirmed reports of nuclear detonations in New York and Pennsylvania.” _

With a heavy heart he had vowed to get revenge, to find whoever had killed his beautiful wife and get Shaun back, but he didn’t even know where to look. The only weapon he had was an old rusty 10mm gun strapped securely to his side and a single royal blue vault suit that acted as armor. 

As he had run through the vault, searching for an escape, a case  _ could  _ have provided him with just a little bit of protection, if what had been in it wasn’t so very empty. He’d heard of Cryolators and their powers from his time in the military, enough to know that it would have been more than useful in a situation like this. 

_ The bastard must have taken it on his way out. _

So he had walked away, looking for some safe haven, running into the elevator and left that Godforsaken graveyard never to look back. The one underneath his very feet. 

Nate took one last look at the metal flooring before charging, straight into the future that looked suspiciously much like his past, and never stopped walking. 

  
  


The vault dweller had eventually found a new home, a strange blimp made out of solid steel, following a man ten years his junior into a war that wasn’t his own in search of the one thing that truly made sense. 

_ Shaun _

Elder Maxson had found the vault dweller, cradled up like a child inside of an alleyway not far from the airport and offered him a new start in life. A clean slate provided that he give up the drugs and work for them in their quest for destruction. 

But after weeks of walking and endless nights of chem addled dreams, he wasn’t even sure what that meant anymore, didn’t know if he could. But Nathan knew he had to try. And so he had. 

It had been almost a year since then, and so far their search had been fruitless, just more corners in search of a God damned door that he wasn’t sure even existed. The only thing he knew for sure was that the Institute had Shaun, it was the only thing that had made sense. 

“Knight Priors? Did you hear me?” Nathan’s head whipped up, clearing itself of the clusterfuck of thoughts, taking in the new information. 

“You’re saying that you found a lead?” He asked experimentally. 

“Yes.” 

“You found Nick Valentine?” 

“Sort of… although, it’s a synth.” 

“And you brought him in for questioning?” 

“It’s refusing to talk, sir.” 

Scott Griswold was an ass of a man, a sadist in every sense of the word, so it didn’t surprise Nate when the pre war detective had decided to stay silent, even with threats looming over his circuit filled head. 

Nathan rose from his seat on the floor and dusted himself off. 

“Take me to him, now!” Griswold took a step back, putting his hands in front of his scrawny face, waiting for an onslaught. 

“It’s-” Nate had no interests in hearing the man’s incompetent excuses and simply brushed past him towards the interrogation room on the far end of the ship. Outside stood a furious Elder, balling his hands into fists only to unclench them moments later, until he got a sight of the Knight and a worried Scribe following close behind. 

“Priors, you can’t go in there.” Maxson ordered to which Nathan only replied with one thing; 

“ _ Try  _ and stop me.” He sidestepped the younger man’s grab to his arm and pried the door open, slamming it shut tightly behind him. When no one so much as tried to open it from the outside, he let go of the handle and turned to the reason he was here. 

“Nick, you sly son of a bitch.” Valentine eyed the intruder, prepared to put up a fight, but lowered his cybernetic arms once he realized just who he was dealing with. 

“Nate… How is this-” Priors slammed his fists into the table, the vibrations reflecting off the walls. 

“This is my son we’re talking about, Valentine! Where is the man who took him, huh? Huh!?” It grew eerily quiet, nothing but the Knight’s heavy panting of rage could be heard. Nick studied him closely, seeing very little of the man he used to know from before. On the outside, this was still the Nathan Priors he had known, but on the inside, a terrible black rot had set root, polluting his mind with anger and hatred.

“I didn’t know it was your son they were looking for… I’m sorry, Nate.” The synth’s words didn’t calm the soldier down, they only made him more upset. 

“I don’t need your apologies,  _ Valentine. _ ” He spat angrily. “I just need to know where the fucker is so I can get my kid back.” 

Nick sighed heavily. “I don’t know-” 

“Don’t you fucking lie to me, you asshole.” The synth detective raised his hands. 

“If I had known, I would have told you. Let’s just calm down and we’ll talk, ok? Let’s just sit down and talk this through as if though we were drinking coffee and smoking a cigarette.” Reluctantly, Nathan took a seat across from the synthetic creature, a spitting image of someone that had once been his friend, and waited for answers. 

“Good… Now why don’t we start with who you’re looking for and we’ll take it from there. Do you have a name?” Nate grabbed a cigarette from his pack and lit it, handing over another one for Nick, who happily accepted. And so they sat for awhile, looking into each other’s eyes. 

“I don’t know… All I have is a face and a recommendation from Irma to come find you.” Valentine puffed out some smoke. 

“Alright, describe the guy.” 

Nathan tried to remember every gruesome little detail of the fucker who had caused all of this, going back to that day inside of the vault. He closed his eyes to get a clearer picture. 

“Old man, probably around late fifties, bald, brown beard, crooked nose… and a weird fucking scar across his left eye.” Nick coughed, choking on the smoke. 

“You didn’t hear the name Kellogg by any chance?” Nathan bit his lower lip. 

“No… no they never said their names. Just grabbed Shaun from Nora’s arms before he shot her.” The synth raised his artificial brows. 

“Nora’s dead?” Nate nodded through the tears that had fallen. Nick frowned. “Jesus, Nate. What the hell happened to you?” 

He told the synth everything, leaving no detail out, feeling good to finally let it out into the open. During the story, the detective and the Knight finished several cigarettes, each time lighting a new one until the entire pack was gone and nothing remain but ashes and butts. When the story was finally told, Nate sat with his head in his hand, crying his eyes out. 

Nick took a deep breath. “Then what the hell are we waiting for?” Priors raised his head and looked the artificial man straight in his yellow orbs, with a look a sheer surprise. “Let’s go get him.” 

Nate laughed for the first time in ages, shaking the synth’s hand.   
  
“Right behind you… partner.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Ya'll! It’s been a crazy [Pun intended] first chapter, *Cough,Cough* [Not really], but I hoped you enjoyed it. So as many of you might have already figured out, yes, the male sole survivor was indeed a detective pre-war and knew the original Nick Valentine… just throwing it out there in case any of you lovely little ones missed it. 
> 
> Also, I know the tag says female sole survivor and Arthur Maxson, but it won’t be Nora. The thing is though; Alice is also a “sole survivor” despite being an original character. Just keep in mind when you read xD Also, yes, there is male sole survivor and Paladin Danse action, don’t worry, although I don’t write gay smut that well, so I might not write it at all *Sad face*
> 
> Anyways, thank you all so much for reading and dropping them kudos! It goes straight into my heart box. Also, feel free to subscribe to my channel and while you’re there, read some of my other works too ^^ It’s greatly appreciated. And if you can find the spare time, just write a small little comment telling me how you’re liking the story so far, it makes me really happy ;)
> 
> I’ve decided to dedicate this story to HancockBlocked, Artmiar [For coming up with the same concept, lol XD] and Cassie [Although you don’t have an account and I can’t make it an official gift, it still goes out to you.] for sticking with my other stories, you’re just the best. I should update this by the end of next week. Sooo… 
> 
> Until next time, JA NE!


	2. What’s lost and broken.

For a man as old as Kellogg, he sure put up a good fight, but in the end it hadn’t been enough. He’d died as the dog he was, on the floor with a bullet in between his sunken grey eyes, scared and alone. 

The synths had easily been repelled, dropping like flies on the cold, hard floor of the Fort, parting with both circuits and gears, losing everything that made them into what they were. 

_ Monsters. _

The dead human body was twisted sickly, and had he been alive, the mercenary mongrel would have cried out in pain, singing the most sickly tune ever known to man. Without so much as a word, the cloaked shadow swept down onto the floor, cracked the dead man’s skull and stole what was inside. 

Then it disappeared just as it had appeared. Without so much as a whisper. 

  
  


“We’re too late.” It only took a moment to realize that something was wrong from the moment they had set foot inside the base. Not only had it been too quiet, but a man as high standing within the Institute as Kellogg would have at least had  _ some  _ sort of security detail with him. 

All they encountered were parts that used to be connected to the synths. 

“We’re too fucking late, Nick! He’s already fucking dead!” Before the Knight’s feet lay the corpse of Conrad Kellogg, a man without so much as an ounce of humanity left, with a cracked skull and a body twisted into something resembling a human pretzel. Just the thought of how this man had died made the Knight sick to his stomach. 

“I’m sorry, Nate. Look at it this way though-” Valentine knelt beside the body, inspecting the damage. “-It can’t have been a pleasant way to go. We should send whoever did this a gift basket.” Priors, despite Nick’s attempts to lighten the tension, was not in any mood to celebrate. This was supposed to be his revenge and his alone. 

_ Whoever stole it is a dead man when I get my hands on him. _

“The only thing I’ll send them is a bullet into their fucking head. It was supposed to be me that killed the fucker! Now I have no answers and no revenge. All of this was for fucking nothing!” He kicked the head hard, accidentally scattering it into a thousand pieces, most of which got onto his boots. 

Nick scrunched up his nose. “Jesus, Priors. That’s fucking gross.” 

“Fuck!” Nate still screamed, kicking and stomping furiously. 

“Hey, wait, stop!” The Knight unwillingly seized his actions, letting the detective do some snooping. Nick grabbed something from Kellogg’s breast pocket. “What have we here?” Nate recognized it almost immediately. 

“A password for a terminal.” He surveyed the room, finding what he was looking for on the very first try. “Over there.” They hastily walked over, inserting it into the mainframe in search of answers. The synth poked around some files, reached and prodded at some more, until he found what he was looking for. 

“ _ Access: Local. Login: Kellogg. Notes: The boy, Shaun, successfully delivered back to the Institute, payment received. New orders to track down renegade, gathered reinforcements, cleared out and secured Fort Hagen. We move out soon. _ ”.” Nate read aloud. 

“This is what I was afraid of. If Shaun’s with the Institute, then-” The Knight cut him off. 

“I don’t need to hear it right now, Nick. I just need to find out how to get in. But how?” He eyed Valentine. “You must know a way in.” 

Nick shook his head. “Sorry, partner. They may have built me, but they shorted every memory I have of the place. I’m afraid that lead’s a bust.” Nate was lost deep in thought, then a brilliant idea came to him. 

“Not necessarily.” The detective peeked his head up. “Just hear me out, ok? What if we go to the memory den and have Amari go poking around those circuits of yours? Might bring back a few memories.” Nick sighed and took a seat next to the terminal, on top of a sturdy, white bench. 

“Don’t you think I haven’t tried that? Amari can’t crack the code.” For awhile it felt as if though that was the end of the road, until his eyes set upon the mutilated corpse. “Maybe not my brain… but what about his?” 

“What are you saying, Nick?” 

“I think I have another way.” 

  
  


God was pissing on him, he was sure. 

Not only was it impossible for the doctor to crack Nick’s code, but according to Amari, it was also impossible to reach memories from brain matter alone. It seemed as if though God hated his very guts, just waiting for him to fail and go back home empty handed. 

But Nate needed answers, but if the doctor couldn’t provide them, then he really didn’t know who could. 

So with a heavy sigh of defeat, Nathan sat down on the steps of the old Statehouse, cursing the almighty creator for granting him such poor luck. 

Hancock took a seat right next to the distraught Knight, patting his broad, flannel clad back with boney, skinless fingers. The ghoul mayor offered up a drink, which the Knight knocked back in a second flat, coughing at the murky taste. 

“What the fuck is this shit, Hancock?” John chuckled raspily, pouring himself another drink. 

“Whiskey.” He replied, licking his lips. 

“Whiskey, my ass… that’s diarrhea.” The ghoul spat it out on the ground in front of them, several drops hitting Nate’s newly shaven face, making the man grimage in disgust. 

“Thanks for that image, princess.  _ Reaaal  _ nice.” Priors wiped the whiskey off his face, whipping the droplets into the ground. 

“Thanks yourself, for that secondhand taste.” John smiled, the way only John could, too toothy and even though he meant well, it always came off as sort of creepy. But Nate wouldn’t have it any other way. 

Somewhere in the alley, Nick was talking to a drifter that, as he’d claimed “might or might not have information on the Institute”, although Nathan was sceptical. 

During their two day travel, many claimed to have information on the hidden bogeyman of the Commonwealth, and all of it turned out to be false and misleading, forcing them to hop down into a rabbit hole of lies and deceit to follow a lead that in actuality lead them nowhere closer to finding his sweet little baby boy.

Ever since he’d stepped out of the vault, Nate often thought back to that day… the day that his, and the entire world had changed forever. Partly the reason why he’d joined the Brotherhood of Steel, despite the love he had for all of his diverse friends from all walks of life, was because this was the only life Nate knew. 

The life of the warrior. 

Even as a kid, when one asked him what he wanted to be, the answer had always been the same. A protector of the people and the land of the free that he loved so much. Even now, when that world was reduced to ashes, this was the only place on earth where he truly wanted to be… 

The world he truly felt at peace living in. 

And the Brotherhood had vowed to not only protect it, but also prevent the disasters from the great war from ever happening again. And even though his loyalty would always lie with a bunch of misfits and miscreants that the people he fought alongside with hated; Nathan was content knowing that this world would also be safer for them, as backwards as that sounded. 

Because with the Institute hauled up only God knows where, Nate knew… that with them in this world, no one was ever going to walk safe through the streets again. 

Hancock lit a cigarette, flicking the ashes onto the broken asphalt and offered his drinking companion his own. Nathan sat next to the horribly irradiated creature, reminiscing of times before, when the world had made sense, telling him all about baseball and Sunday picnics and churches with steeples, priests and worshippers and the way Nora looked when she slept, holding their son closely, as if no time had passed at all. 

“What about the Minutemen? Couldn’t they help your sunny ass?” John asked after a long silence. 

Nate shook his head. “No… said they only wanted to protect the Commonwealth… not pick a fight with whoever took Shaun.” 

“Damn… that’s rough, kid.” The ghoul mayor said apologetically. “Did ya really have to leave ‘em behind though?” 

Nate didn’t have time to reply before Valentine made his way out of the dark alleyway. 

“Priors, we’ve got a lead.” 

Hancock laughed in his raspy chime, slapping Nate on his broad back playfully. 

“Good luck, man. You’re gonna need it.” He said with whiskey induced confidence and Nick couldn’t help but to agree. 

 

  
  
The shadow crept slowly across the crumbling pavements surrounding the Old Statehouse, snapping up every ounce of information possible before searching for its target. Bright neon letters gave the final piece of the puzzle. This was where it needed to be… underneath the lambent sign that hurt its tired eyes and cast light upon its black cloak. 

It swept inside, finally completing the task it had been hired for.    
  
  


“Hey Nick, do you think that Captain Williams would have fit in here? In 2288 I mean.” Valentine shrugged. 

“I don’t know. The man always was a little bit too obsessed with his tv-shows.” Nate sniggered uncharacteristically.

“I know what you mean. The man could literally not go a day without his God damned TV. I just wish that he could have at least refrained from putting one in his office.” They delved back into the past, remembering the good times and the bad. 

“Hey, Priors.” He stopped for a second, staring at the other as the wind blew through the Commonwealth grass, dry and brittle, sharing but one single look. “Do you ever miss being a detective?” 

Nate smiled solemnly. “Every day. I miss the horrible coffee in the breakroom and the way detective Lancer always used to make us a cup whenever the case we were working on went south… I even miss those times, when we were up all night, cramming through the paperwork and missed leads.” He paused, contemplating letting the next part stay within his mind, but letting it out anyway. “But most of all, however awful it sounds to say… I miss Nick… the real one.” 

They stood far apart, eyeing each other top to bottom, remembering this moment and many to come. No matter how much they both wished it, the Nick in front of them, would never be the same one that Nate saw every day at work… the one man he could truly call his best friend. 

“I know, kid… I know.” 

  
  


They had both returned that night, bloodied and beaten, to an awaiting Elder leaning against the railing of the Command Deck, the way he always did. At the first sign of their return, Maxson turned to face them, seeing complete and utter defeat in both of their faces. He cleared his throat and glared angrily at the synth who pretended to be a pre war detective. 

“I understand that your mission was unsuccessful.” Nate snarled at his comment, wanting desperately to punch the Elder in his bearded and scarred face. “I’m sorry to hear, Priors. I know that you wanted to find your son.” 

No one spoke for awhile, mostly because Arthur waited for the pair to explain themselves, but also because he knew that Nathan needed time to be upset at the answers that stubbornly refused to show their ugly faces. A search for truth wasn’t always fruitful, he thought bitterly. 

“Yeah… when we got there, someone else had already killed Kellogg.” 

“Upside though, we did manage-” Maxson glared furiously at the synth

“Speak when spoken to,  _ synth. _ ” He spat. 

“Listen when others speak,  _ Maxson _ ” Nick retorted wryly. 

Nate waved his hand in between them. “Enough, the both of you. Fighting each other won’t solve shit, so just accept that this is the reality of the situation and get over it. You don’t need to like each other, but we do need to work together.” 

Arthur snorted and pointed at the synthetic man. “How do we know that it’s not working with the Institute? That it isn’t relaying information to them as we speak?” 

Nate knew that he was right, sadly enough. Even if Nick Valentine had been, and always would be, his partner; Priors knew that there was a slight possibility that nothing they said in their lonesome would stay between their ears. 

But Nathan had to believe, somewhere in his heart, that this was still the same man that he’d once known from back then. Not the same body, but always the same mind. 

He sighed heavily. “Look, we don’t, Elder. But with all due respect, if you really believed that, you wouldn’t have let him aboard the ship.” Arthur paced to and fro, feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders. 

There were two ways that this could go. 

One; he let the wretched abomination remain aboard the ship, working with Priors in finding his son, which could either lead to; A: Nathan finding his son and continue to work with the Brotherhood, possibly returning with them back to the Capital Wasteland, or; B: Him finding the Institute and then discovering that he’d been right all along about the synth and it’s cruel intentions. 

Option two… He could throw it off the ship, but at the same time, lose the only person willing to go blind into the Institute. This man had a purpose, and with or without them, Nathan would reach his goal. 

So… against his better judgement, and out of idle curiosity, he chose the first one, sighing deeply. 

“As you wish, Priors… but if that  _ thing- _ ” He pointed accusingly at Valentine. “Betrays us, it’s your head I’m coming after. Understood?” 

Nate nodded hastily. “Yes, sir. Thank you… you won’t be disappointed.” 

The young Elder snarled. “I appreciate your attempt at reassuring me, but that’s an outcome only time can tell.” He turned to Valentine, directing his full attention at it. “If you’re on our side in this war, we can promise some leniency against your kind. We won’t ban the hunt on the synths, but once the Institute is dealt with, the ones who surrender, I will show mercy.” 

“I guess that’s the best we’re likely to get. I’d toast a drink in your honor, but I’m afraid I don’t have one.” Arthur frowned. 

“Just remember, that if you’re  _ not  _ on our side… and if you should cross us… you will be destroyed and disjoined for parts. Am I making myself clear?” He spat angrily. 

“Crystal, Maxson.” Having finally reached an agreement with the anathemic creation, he dismissed them both, Priors to get some food in the mess hall, and Valentine back to its cell down at the airport, where it would wait until it was needed. 

He stood for several hours, being approached by Proctors and Scribes alike, all wanting just a few minutes of his precious time. At least that’s what they described it as. 

In all honesty, Arthur did little during the day other than standing around and signing the occasional piece of paper to authorise repairs or recon missions. He could remember the last hundred such slips he’d signed, essentially sending them to their deaths. 

Only one recon squad had ever returned from the Commonwealth, with the other two missing, both presumed dead, one of which contained the one person the young Elder could call a friend. 

Paladin Richard Danse had been missing for a little over a year now, which lead Arthur to draw a single, gruesome conclusion. 

The Commonwealth had been the death of him. 

Maxson didn’t want to believe that a man that had been through so much, and survived where others had perished, was now rotting in the parched ground underneath their feet, serving as food for the sickly plants littering this God forsaken world. He couldn’t believe that it was true, because if it was, Arthur would be truly lost without his best friend by his side. 

No attempt to contact the Prydwen had been made, and no signs of where they had put up a camp had been found. Recon Squad Gladius and its members would have never been so foolish as to simply walk around Boston without a permanent outpost stationed somewhere in the immense city. He knew that somewhere out there, the Paladin must have had some place to rest his head… 

  
  


Danse hadn’t had a single night’s good sleep since touching boots on the ground in this massive metropolis all those months ago. It had been one disaster after the other with members of the team dying because of choices that he’d made, ferals attacking the police station and the shortage of both ammo and food that kept him up as the stars and the moon faded and morning surely, but unfortunately, approached without any indication that they were getting out anytime soon. 

Richard had waited every day for the Brotherhood to hear their distress call and come running into the premise, guns blazing, to finally rescue them from this hell they’d found themselves in. 

He had both heard and seen the Prydwen fly across the sky towards, what he found out later, Boston airport, where they had set up their new Commonwealth chapter. He both knew and dreaded the fact that the police station’s communications system was busted and completely useless, and even if it had worked - wouldn’t have been able to send out any sort of message to their ship. The signal was too weak to get picked up by the com aboard the battleship, so all they could do was sit idly by and wait for a patrol to wander close enough to hear the beeping distress pulser emit its warning message. 

The journey to the airport would have been easy enough to make, but leaving behind Haylen and Rhys was not a risk he was willing to take. Some time during the past months, all but three had perished from his team, with only him, Knight Mitch Rhys and Scribe Emily Haylen, remaining. 

Haylen was too important to lose, being both the medic and… pregnant. 

Even if she tried to hide it, the growing bump on her stomach was hard to miss. And he also knew that Rhys was the father, something that the irritable Knight would never admit out loud. But Danse knew. 

If they had been a little bit more methodical, a little bit smarter, they would have set out for the airport months ago, when none of this had yet to happen. When the entire team was still intact and Emily wasn’t expecting. 

The wait was going to be the end of them. 

So he had made the call, to finally do something other than sit around and twiddle his thumbs. 

Richard packed all he would need into a single bag, pulled the hood over his dirt brown hair, and checked for the last time if the ammo and guns he’d brought would be enough. Haylen and Rhys questioningly stood by, waiting for their commanding officer to explain. When he didn’t, Rhys took the initiative. 

“Heading out for some scouting, sir?” Paladin Danse flung the bag across his armor clad shoulders. 

“No… I’m going to ArcJet. Haylen.” She peeked up. “You said once in conversation that it might hold a deep range transmitter. I’m going to look for it.” 

Emily shook her head furiously. “That’s too dangerous. Rhys isn’t fully healed from his wounds yet, taking him would-” Richard cut her off. 

“No, Haylen…  _ we’re  _ not going…” She sighed in relief. “I’m going alone. I need to find it so that we can get out of here. And… so the both of you can raise that baby together.” Emily blushed, watching Mitch’s reaction, which was pretty much a replica of hers. 

“Sir, you can’t be serious. You’d die!” 

Danse headed for the door, turning when there was no chance of them stopping him, and smiled at the couple. 

He finally spoke: “Better me than you.” and headed out the door with the little hope he still carried in his heart.    
  
  


“Elder Maxson, sir.” Arthur whipped around, seeing the small Squire approach carefully. 

“Yes, Squire Andersen.” 

“Lancer Captain Kells wanted to speak to you, down on the Flight Deck, but only if you had time.” The Elder smiled at the young boy, putting a large hand on his small shoulder reassuringly. 

“Of course, Squire. Tell Kells that I’ll be there in just a moment.” Andersen saluted and returned through the door, onto the deck where the day was young and the birds chirped happily alongside the tunes of the wind. 

Arthur would have thought that this was a good day, had it not been for the fact that Priors was ever the thorn in his side. Not only did he have the audacity to  _ demand  _ that the Elder spare a small team to go into the most dangerous place in Boston, on a hunch nonetheless, but he also had the guts to call Maxson out for being a rambunctious child for not allowing said expedition.

Arthur was down to his last nerve when it came to the man. No matter how valuable he was, Nate could not be allowed to continue to act this way. Like a sulking child calling their parents ugly names for some reason or the other. Maxson just wasn’t having it any longer. 

He climbed the steps of the ladder, making a beeline towards the one place he knew the insubordinate Knight would be.  

The Prydwen’s forecastle. A place that Arthur often visited himself when the demons became too bold. 

The creaking of the door made the man spin around, searching for the intruder, and eyeing him angrily once Nate realized who it was. 

“Elder.” 

“Knight.” Maxson replied wryly. 

“If you’ve come here for an apology-” 

“Not at all, Priors. I’ve simply come here to inform you that your request has been denied, indefinitely. If you want to go search the Glowing Sea with the Brotherhood at your back, you need to bring me proof that isn’t circumstantial at best.” Nathan met his gaze, trying with all his might to stare the Elder down.

But Maxson wasn’t a person one won a staring contest against. 

“This is my son we’re talking about, Maxson. You wouldn’t understand.” 

Arthur didn’t know why he felt the need to explain himself, or to prove something to the Knight, but somewhere deep inside, the man reminded him of his father, whom he was constantly seeking approval from. 

So Maxson stood beside him, pulled out a single photograph and handed it over for the other man to inspect. 

Arthur sighed. “His name was Aiden… Aiden Jerriah Maxson. The woman in the picture was Analise Maxson.” Nate cocked an eyebrow. “The smoke woke us up one night. I told her to grab Aiden and run… to get out. They didn’t even make it through the hall before the fire devoured them.” Arthur turned to him, eyes filled with sadness. “He didn’t even get to turn one before he was taken from me…” 

Nathan gasped, understanding now who this was. 

You take a man’s life… 

Before you take his son. 

The Elder placed and understanding hand on Priors shoulder, grasping it tightly. Nathan met his gaze once again. 

“I understand exactly how you feel, Nate. Don’t you think for a moment that I don’t understand, or that I’m being insensitive to your feelings regarding your son. A man’s son, is his entire world. Take it from him, and he’s left an empty shell that just… exists. You never truly live again afterwards. But I can’t risk your life as well as your brothers and sisters, for someone that might not even be there. I’m sorry, Priors… you have to find another way.” 

For the first time since setting foot aboard the Prydwen, Nathan understood exactly what made Arthur Maxson into the apathetic, closed minded ass of a man he was, and he couldn’t fault the Elder one bit for it. 

Because who can fault a man who’s lost everything? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I’d like to start this author’s note by saying three things. One; I would like to say straight off the bat that yes, Maxson is going to be an ass towards anyone who is different, pretty much throughout the entire saga; I will not change that. Two; Yes, Arthur had a family once and yes, they’re dead TT^TT I know… it’s so sad that I did this, but it all ties together in the end. And finally number three; I know I said I was going to update next week, but it’s Sunday and I have a lot of free time on my hands XD Also, thank you all for your feedback! It’s nice to see people reading ;) And did you guys see the new update on Paper Moon, Lead Balloon by Fancy Lads Snacks (Filthy_Bunny).   
> Remember to check it out! It’s really good and one of the fics that made me want to start writing for this ship ;) And on that note, check out Deep Sea if you haven’t already ;) It’s a complete fic with 35 chapters. I am working on a sequel, but it probably won’t come out for another month or so at the earliest. I still have a lot of fics that I’m juggling right now that I really need to finish TT^TT. Please support me by leaving a kudos and a comment with your thoughts. It really helps ;) Until next time, JA NE! XD


	3. Of cloak and daggers.

Danse should have never been so stupid… he should have never allowed himself to believe that this was a mission that could easily be completed by just man. And so now, while he was bleeding out in the elevator on the way back up to the Commonwealth ground, he saw the life he’d lead both with laughter and strife as well as doubts and regrets. 

He wanted to live… he desperately wanted to live, but knew that the wounds the synths had inflicted on his messed up body would be the end of him unless he somehow managed to get back to the doctor at the police station.

But that was just a distant hope…  

Richard tried to remember his mother, but ended up with nothing but a blank face, not so much as a feature or distinctive marker. Sometimes he wondered if even had one, but knew he must have once… he must have come from somewhere… 

Right? 

As the last ding indicated that he’d reached the top, he prepared himself for the worst, for the end of the line and all that it meant, and the bright light that blinded his burning eyes. But instead of a blinding flash of light, there was only darkness. 

It was as he had feared… 

This wasn’t heaven. 

It was hell. 

He wept loudly, cursing his luck. All the sacrifices he had made, the right doings he’d done, had been all for naught. The salty tears stung his cut cheeks, mixing with the blood and the wounds. 

_ Wait _

Pain meant you were alive. 

_ So then…  _

“Are you gonna sit there all day, or are you gonna get out?” Danse whipped his head up, meeting the stranger’s azure blue eyes, filled with annoyance. Here he was bleeding out, and there they were belittling his very existence. Richard cursed loudly. “Fine… get mad then.” They replied. 

The cloaked stranger sat atop an empty crate, chewing on a dandy boy apple, putting it underneath the mask they wore. The Paladin raised his weapon, aiming for the hooded alien’s head with great precision. 

They responded by dropping the apple and drawing the most curious thing at his very own skull. 

A bow and arrow, and judging by the looks of it, expertly made. Probably scavenged from some pre-war hunting store. 

The stranger spoke calmly. “That would be a very bad move,  _ wastelander. _ ” Wastelander? Who did they think they were talking to? 

“I’m not a wastelander. I’m Paladin Danse, Brotherhood of Steel. Lower your bow and I’ll lower my gun. Agreed?” After a moment’s uncertainty, the shadow complied with his wishes, and he fulfilled his part of the deal. Richard pressed harder into the wound, feeling the effects of the blood loss as his vision began to fade and breathing becoming even more hitched than before. 

“Damn…” the hooded figure spoke. “You made me drop my lunch. You owe me a new one.” 

Danse moaned in pain. “Ngh… well… tough luck, kid.” The masked stranger eyed him angrily, glaring daggers into his whiskey brown eyes. In this light, and from this distance, the Paladin couldn’t make out the gender of the person sitting before him, very less their age. But the voice sounded young enough, and the stature was that of someone who hadn’t yet experienced their twentieth year on this earth. A black skull bandana covered the lower part of their face, shielding everything before a turtleneck piece of armor took over. The rest was completely indiscernible. 

They spoke, grabbing another apple from the box. “So why are you just sitting there? Can’t get up?” Danse laughed ironically. 

“Ever fallen over in power armor?” He asked. 

“Not really, but I’m guessing it’s a bitch to get back up?” 

The Paladin let out a huff when yet another wave of pain hit, losing his breath for a moment. 

“Almost impossible with this injury.” They kept on chewing and shrugged. 

“Damn… that looks bad. Well, if you’re not going to move, I might as well just leave you to it.” They rose, discarded the last of the apple somewhere in the corner and headed for the door. Call it the fear of dying alone or the small glimmer of hope that they might be willing to help, but Danse called out for them. 

“Wait… stranger.” The hooded one turned back, staring at the injured Paladin. “Would you be so kind as to help me up?” They sucked in a deep breath between their teeth, making a hissing sound. 

“Sorry, man. I’m strong, but I’m not  _ that  _ strong. But good luck though.” 

“Wait!” They sighed in annoyance. “What would it take for you to help me? Name your price!” The cloaked stranger crossed their arms, putting one hand underneath their chin, giving off a deep thinking kind of vibe. 

“Yeeeeah… look… you don’t seem that well off, so you wouldn’t be able to pay my fee anyways. And I don’t know you, so there is that.” Danse was about to cry in frustration. Here was the most inhuman, sociopathic person he’d ever met, but also the only one that could help him in this situation. 

“Please… I’m begging you… I don’t want to die.” He lost the battle with the tears, feeling as they flowed freely, getting caught in his stubble with his nose snotting up. He probably looked like a sulking child or a frightened radstag, but he could care less. All Danse knew was that he did not want to die… not like this. Not before he could get back to his team and see to it that they live happily together with their child. Only then could he die in peace. 

The stranger sighed. “Fine… tell me what to do.” He looked at them with disbelief. “What? I got something on my face?” 

“N-no, no, I just… thank you.” 

“Yeah, yeah, don’t get all gushy on me, just tell me how I can help you.” 

Danse was at a loss for words. “I-I don’t know. I just need help somehow.” 

“How can I help you when you don’t even know how yourself? You’re one troublesome man…” They muttered. “Alright, how about this… you crawl out here to the best of your ability and I’ll help you out of that suit so I can get a look at what we’re dealing with. Sound good?” He nodded hastily, grabbing the wall for support so that he might get some leverage. 

It took some doing, and some very annoyed huffs from the hooded stranger, but at last, Danse was standing next to them, hand still clasping the bleeding wound. 

Richard panted heavily from the dizziness. “The catch won’t release.”  

The previous huffs in exasperations now became more grunts of displeasure. 

“Alright, now stop clutching your belly, and stand upright. I’m gonna turn the valve.” They stood behind him and he felt when the cogs brushed together, releasing the man from the metal prison he was in, and the cloaked one barely had time to catch the Paladin before he fell head first into the wall. 

“Jesus H Christ, you weigh a fucking ton.” Richard wanted to tell them to stop swearing, as he usually did to anyone within the ranks, when he realized that this might not be the best of times to do so. “I’m gonna put you down on the floor now. Fuck it’s dark in here. Wait… let me just-” 

In the next second the world became a little brighter, illuminated by a strange hue of green, coming from the stranger’s arm. 

_ A Robco pip-boy.  _

“There we go.” They spoke and snapped him out of his thoughts. “Verdammt. This doesn’t look good at all… o-okay, this may be way out of my league. I’m sorry, man.” They only said what Danse had feared all along. There was no hope left. 

He laughed in shock. “Don’t suppose you have a bottle of whiskey and a cigar?” They didn’t speak, just kept staring straight ahead with captivating azure orbs, lost in a train of thought. “What?” 

They became eccentric. “You’re right! Alcohol and fire. Hold on a second.” They surveyed the room like a hawk, searching for anything of use, grabbing some random items off a shelf, then proceeded to remove items from a pouch on their left thigh. 

“This isn’t good. I’ve only got four stimpacks left, and no med-x. This is going to hurt, not gonna lie to you.” They gave no warning other than the plopping sound the cork made as it was removed from the bottle, before the contents of the vodka was poured into his gaping wound. 

He screamed loudly, afraid he might pass out from the icy pain his body was put through.

“Are you insane? You don’t pour alcohol into an open wound!” He yelled. The stranger shrugged. 

“Well, what did you expect? I've never done something like this before.” They stated. 

“Obviously.” He retorted, before another wave of pain hit. Danse screamed.  

“Do you want the entire damn Commonwealth to hear you? Shut up!” They hissed, but to no avail. Eventually, they had enough after a couple of minutes of incessant begging and wailing. The only thing the stranger had to their disposal was a crumpled up pair of clean socks, which they stuffed into his open mouth. “Might be a little hard to breath, but see it this way-” They poured yet another generous amount of the poison in the wound. “-you have something to bite down onto.” 

He couldn’t argue with that at least. 

Richard contemplated giving up and losing the battle with unconsciousness, but the longer he stayed awake, the longer he knew that he was alive, and the alternative was just too frightening to think about. 

They continued to poke a prod for awhile, grabbing a needle and thread, searching for any signs of bleeding, but found to their great surprise, and relief, that the blood had clogged up most of the vessels. 

“Alright, good news. The bleeding has stopped, sort of. So all I need to do now is close you up and hope for the best.” Had Emily been here, she would have told the stranger what to do, so Richard searched through his mind, trying to remember what she’d said while operating on Worwick. 

_ “The internal bleeding is severe.”  _

_ “What are the chances of survival?” He’d asked.  _

_ “Less than 5%, sir.”  _

He’d ordered Haylen to end his suffering, his pain, and now karma was coming back to bite him in the ass. He couldn’t think straight, couldn’t remember what happened before all of that, before Emily had administered the pain meds that killed him. 

_ Think Richard… _

“Don’t!” He shouted muffedly. “Don’t.” He spat out the socks. “Don’t close yet. You have-have to check for any additional bleeders. If there are arteries involved, you have to stitch them back together. Are those regular thread and needle?” 

The stranger gagged. “Needle is yeah, but fuck no. I am not reaching in there to stitch you up like fucking Dr. Frankenstein or some shit like that.” 

“Yes you will. Do you have any additional light?” They nodded and pulled out an old flashlight. “Good, now shine it into my abdomen. What do you see?” 

“Dude… fuck… I see so much… I can’t even…” They gagged again. 

“Do you see a lot of blood, forming somewhere maybe?” The sweat on his forehead dripped down into his dirt brown hair, itching its way through his scalp. 

They shook their head. “No… no it seems to have stopped.” 

Danse sighed in relief. “Good… then I’m not still bleeding. Now reach in and-” The cloaked stranger rose, but Richard grabbed their hand, pulling them back down. “No-no! Stay with me. Just please do as I say. Reach down and look around, carefully.” 

It was a strange sensation, feeling somebody poking around inside of your body, looking and inspecting as if though he was a brahmin set for slaughter or some corpse to practise medicine on. He needed to push down the nausea, which was no easy task, but eventually he came to grips with the fact that it was either this or a certain death. 

“No additional bleeding. All in all, you’re looking good. Damn, I’ve never said that to a guy while I was arms deep into his guts.” They laughed nervously, trying to comprehend the situation. 

“Go-good. The fusion cell must have cauterized the wound. Do you have a bunsen burner?” 

They cocked their eyebrows at the Paladin. “Do I look like I carry a fucking bunsen burner?” 

“You’re right… alright then, do you have a flip lighter?” The hooded one nodded, shaking some orion blonde hair into their face, long and wavy. 

_ A woman? _

“Yeah, in my pocket.” The woman reached for her pocket, grabbing a small object and pulled it out into the open. “Now what?” 

“Sterilize the needle and start sewing up the external wound. Don’t poke too much inside, and for  _ God’s  _ sake, don’t - stitch - my insides - to my - outsides!” The stranger laughed nervously. 

“I’ll try. Just… just don’t die, ok? I’d hate to have gotten this far only to watch you die.” Richard tried nodding, but only succeeding in moving a little bit, the hood restricting his movement too much. He tried removing it, reaching for the clasps, but realized only then that his arms wouldn’t obey. 

“Think you can lend me a hand?” 

She snapped at him. “What the fuck do you think I’ve been doing?” 

“I know… I’m sorry, it’s just too hot in this hood. Help me get it off, would you?” She complied with his wishes, pulling it off with great care as to not snag it on his hair, which was strange, but a nice change of pace from her usual demeanor. 

“Wow… You’re actually really handsome.” 

Danse chuckled. “I’d say the same to you, but I don’t know what you look like.” 

She hm:ed, grabbing the needle, holding it under the flame for a couple of seconds before reaching for the surgical thread, which surprised him that she had such a thing in her inventory. But he was grateful to not have clothing thread holding him together like a raggedy Ann of fucking crazy. 

“And you never will, Paladin Danse of the Brotherhood of Steel. Nice try though.” He lay still, feeling each prick of the searing hot needle pierce his battered and bruised skin, watching her profile. The only skin he could see was her eyes, brows and a small part of her forehead. 

“You’re a woman… that much is obvious.” 

She laughed. “You cranky that your sorry ass is getting saved by a meek, helpless woman?” 

“You’re neither meek nor helpless. And no, I’m not sorry… just extremely grateful that you decided to stick around after all.” He spoke sincerely, and in all honesty, Richard really was more than grateful for what she’d done for him tonight. 

“Well… your incessant begging was starting to get on my nerves. Plus, you gave me a great opportunity to practice some suturing on actual human skin that isn’t my own.” Danse chuckled, happy to know that if he made it through the night, he would make it. He could go find Emily and Mitch and finally get them back aboard the Prydwen in one piece. 

_ If I ever get out of here. _

“I need to ask one last favor… if you would listen?” 

She finished the last suture, cutting it off with an arrow head before tucking her supplies back into the various pouches on her outfit. 

“Sure, why not? ‘S’not like I’ve already done more than enough.” He frowned deeply, fearing that she would not hear him out after all. The woman sighed deeply, sitting on her behind next to the Paladin. “Fine, what?” 

“Could you head to the Cambridge police station and tell Rhys and Haylen that Paladin Danse sent you, and then tell Rhys to come out here as fast as he can? Unless you wanna help me back there yourself?” 

“Not really. And I’m heading in the completely opposite direction. I was only here to retrieve some deep range transmitter for my employer.” He froze, understanding why the stranger was there now in the first place. The very same transmitter in his possession, inside the suit. He made the mistake of glancing over, and she followed his eyes. 

The hooded woman got up and poked around some before finally finding what she was looking for. 

“Don’t… I need that for my team. It’s ours.” She tossed it into the air before chucking it into her bag back carelessly. 

“And now it’s mine. Call it payment for saving your life. I’ll even throw in a stimpack for the trouble.” Danse now saw what sort of person this was. 

_ Common mercenary scum. _

“Put it back where you found it, right this instant.” He tried to sound menacing, but failed, not being able to even sit without assistance. A broken man was something nobody feared.

“Not a chance, buddy. But hey, thank you for saving me the trouble of retrieving it on my own. Would have been a bitch to get this out.” 

He snarled at her. “Give. it. back!” Danse coughed violently when the strain on his dry vocal cords became too much to bare. It hurt worse than the gunshot when the stitches strained at his skin, feeling a few of them on the verge of popping. 

“Stop yelling, old man. You’re gonna destroy my work. Look, my buyer is willing to pay me a thousand caps for this thing… how much are you willing to pay?” The Paladin thought deeply, wondering what a thing like that might be worth, indeed. 

“Two thousand. I’ll pay you two thousand for it.” 

She grinned underneath the mask. “Great… then cough ‘em up.” 

“I don’t have it with me, but when I get back to the Prydwen, I promise to send them-” The hooded one shook her head, making a few more strands of her golden locks bounce free. 

“Not a chance. I gather my payment the moment the item is handed over, that’s my deal. So if you don’t have it right here, I’m gonna sell it to my employer.” Danse grunted. 

“If I don’t get that back to my team, we will die. We barely have enough supplies to survive another week, and one of the members is pregnant… I need to give that to her so that she can contact our superiors aboard the Prydwen.” The blonde woman sat down on top the crate again, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it, inhaling deeply through the mask. 

“You’ll find out sooner or later that I don’t have a soft spot for pregnant women. Sorry, but that’s just not my style. Been duped that way too many times before.” The whiskey eyed Paladin watched as the rings of smoke disappeared into nothing, fearing that hope might be lost all over again. He would return to them, unable to help defend the station and draining resources, and on top of that.

He would return empty handed. 

“If you don’t believe me, you can come with-”

She cut him off with a warm chuckle. “Oh I believe you, bucko. I just don’t trust you to pay me the two thousand once you get back to your blimp. How do I know I won’t get a bullet in my head for even setting foot inside the courtyard of the police station? It’s not like they know that I’m coming. Sorry, but no can do. You’re just going to have to find another way.” 

_ There is no other way.  _

She sat there, in silence, watching as the stars sparkled, pulsating like veins on the oxford blue sky, huffing drag after drag from her gradually smaller cigarette until it was nothing more than a butt in her hands. She hummed quietly, a tune which he didn’t recognized, lovely and slow. Soothing and peaceful.

“Sometimes I wake up with the sadness, other days it feels like madness, oh… what would I do without you? When colors turn to shades of grey, with the weight of the world at  _ the end of the day. Oh… what would I do without you?”  _

Danse fell asleep to the sound of her humming a sweet tune in her low alto tone, dreaming of nothing, feeling completely and utterly… at peace. 

 

* * *

 

_ “Danse… Danse!”  _

Voices, so distant, it was almost as if they weren’t there, called out for him, trying to connect. 

_ Let me sleep. _

“Danse! Danse, wake up! We’re here!” The woman’s voice became clearer, and the pressure of something across his chest became greater, reminding him that he was alive. 

He dared to creak his tired eyes open, watching as the foggy world came into full view with its offending bright lights and pounding headache, feeling as if though he’d been run over by a herd of very angry brahmin. 

“Rhys! He’s alive. Danse is alive.” 

There were so many noises, voices shouting, footsteps from power armor getting louder, the sounds of a Vertibird firing up. 

_ Vertibird. _

He started laughing, ignoring the pain in his stomach as he came to a sudden realization. 

_ She’d actually given them the transmitter.  _

Never had he had so much faith in humanity as he did now. 

 

__

* * *

__  
  
Four hours earlier. 

The shadow knew what had to be done, even if it meant forfeiting this month's pay and possibly losing out on a great employer, but somewhere along the lines… she’d became too involved in this man’s life. In those around him. 

Their survival depended on her now, their lives rested on her tiny shoulders. 

She stood, reaching for a piece of paper and a pen in her bag and started writing. Only when she was completely satisfied with the outcome did she leave it behind. 

With one last glance at the sleeping man, she set out through the night to find the team he spoke so highly of.  
  


* * *

_   
_ “There was a note for you… do you want me to read it aloud?” Haylen hadn’t stopped crying until they were all safely aboard the battleship. It had taken hours, both Knight Captain Cade and Scribe Masters had looked him over and inspected the work of the stranger that had swept in through the night and saved his life. Danse had been given the all clear, sighing in relief, knowing that this wasn’t going to be his last day alive. He was going to make it through. 

“Please do.” 

“Dear Paladin Danse, Brotherhood of Steel… It’s been nice getting to know you, even the parts that weren’t that nice, and quite frankly, fucking disgusting.” Both he and Haylen chuckled. 

Soon enough, Emily’s voice wasn’t the one that he heard inside his mind, but instead... it was  _ hers.  _   
  


_ “When you read this, I’ll have left for God know’s what reason… I’m selfish like that. But just know that I’ll always remember the weird stranger in the elevator with a gaping wound and broken power armor. Even if we never meet again, I want you to know that you’ve changed me in some way, no matter how sappy that sounds.  _

_ In the end, I never did get those caps, so if we ever do meet again… it’s now up to three thousand. Hey, I went through hell with you… it’s the least that I deserve! Plus, I’ll probably lose a great employer, so there is that.  _

_ In all honesty, it wasn’t just because of the caps, I realize now in retrospect, however fucked up that is. Maybe I’ll regret not selling this to that vendor I had an agreement with… or maybe not. I’ll never know. Maybe I’ve changed, maybe I haven’t.  _

_ But I do know one thing… _

_ It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.  _

_ Farewell Paladin Danse of the Brotherhood of Steel.  _

_ Love _

_ Alice. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Gasp* What a shock? Actually, no, her name was sort of in the summary. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed it and that you’ll stick around for more. As I said in the previous chapter, it’s going to be a slow burn and there isn’t going to be any romance for the first couple of chapters, but I hope that you’ll be patient with me. I’ll make it up for you with lots and lots of smut, mohahaha >:D.   
> Also I strongly recommend that you listen to “What would I do without you?” by Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors, since that’s the song Alice sings. They’re on spotify! I’m making a playlist with the songs I listen to while writing. I’ll leave a link when I’m done; to a youtube playlist. Might take a while though, so hang in there.   
> Anyways, until next time, JA NE!


	4. This is what you came here for.

When Arthur heard the news of his best friend’s return, the man almost wept with joy, despite never being the type to show such emotions. In his adult life, Maxson could count the times he’d cried on one hand. 

The first one when he’d lost Sarah. 

The second one when he’d lost Owyn. 

And the third one when he’d lost his wife and child. 

Maybe this would be number four, he wasn’t sure. All he knew was that he desperately needed to see him before it was too late. Cade had assured the Elder that all was well and that Danse would survive, but somewhere in the back of his mind, Arthur knew that every day in this line of work might be the last. 

He hurried through the busy ship, stomping through the cramped corridors until he finally set eyes upon the medbay door and pushed it open. 

When he saw his friend again after the time that had passed, he couldn’t help but to think how broken and small he looked in comparison to his usual stoic self. His cheeks were hollowed from malnutrition, wrinkles had started forming around his neck and eyes, his chin was covered in overgrown stubble that had been unkept for quite some time and his body was weak and frail from the harsh life in the wasteland. 

He almost looked like he did when he joined the Brotherhood. 

Arthur grabbed a chair and sat down next to the man’s bed, waiting for him to wake up. Maxson could have easily woken him and given him a poor ass excuse on how he needed a mission update, but in all actuality… all he wanted was to hear his friend’s voice again. 

To see his brown eyes and warm smile, accompanied with that deep, bass laugh he’d missed. 

Had the Elder been romantically interested in men, Richard would have been the obvious choice for him, but alas… Arthur was not. 

But Danse was the only family he had left, and damned be God Himself if the Almighty would take another family away from him. 

So Arthur sat, patiently waiting for his brother to crack one whiskey brown eye open and act as if he wasn’t broken, battered and bruised and laugh as if nothing had happened. As if he hadn’t been gone for all that time. 

As he waited, his eyes drifted around the room filled with get-well-cards and an array of wasteland flowers and ornaments that one usually got when one was recovering from a trauma. But one thing stood out through all of the extravagance. 

Just an old piece of paper, a letter that wasn’t even sealed and out in the open. 

_ He wouldn’t mind if I just peeked at it… would he? _

Maxson grabbed the parchment, skimming through the rows of heartfelt sincerity that looked as if though it had been written by a teenager on a nuka-cola high. He knitted his brows together tightly, taking in every ounce of information. 

“Hey… you’re here.” 

Arthur’s head whipped up from the letter as he gazed into tired and sunken brown eyes. 

“Hey… yeah, I just got here. How are you?” Maxson asked. 

Danse laughed. “Well… I’ve been better, but I can’t really complain. The pain meds Cade’s got me on are amazing. Could use some water though.” Arthur complied to the Paladin’s wishes, grabbing a can of purified water from the shelf and stuck a straw through the crack. 

The Elder put it up to the Paladin’s lip, feeling gradually better when some color returned to his lifeless cheeks. 

“Thanks.” Arthur placed the can on the bedside table, listening to Danse’s breathing to assure himself that he was alive and doing better. “Is that her letter?” 

Maxson looked puzzled. “What?” 

“The one you’re holding.” The Elder looked down to his palm when he realized he was still holding the parchment. “Alice’s letter.” 

“Y-yeah, I suppose. Her name was Alice?” 

Danse shrugged. “Dunno. She signed it “Alice”, so I have to assume that it is.” 

Arthur hm:ed. “Strange…” 

“How so?” Richard asked with a raspy chime. 

“It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then”. It’s from the book “Alice in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll.” The Paladin’s eyes became bigger than saucers once he realized what the man was referring to. 

“You mean to tell me… damn. She signed with an alias. That’s a shame.” Maxson poured himself a glass of water from a different can, sipping it slowly as though it was wine. 

“How is that?” He asked. 

“I wanted to know her real name.” Danse retorted dryly. 

“A name is just a bunch of random letters arranged differently. A person however, is a string of actions that defines them. A name is useless, actions are all that matters. So what if you don’t know her real name? She saved your life… that’s gotta count for something.” Maxson shared a strange feat of poetry. 

Richard chuckled lowly. “Yeah… I guess you’re right. Though it would be nice to also have the real name for a person, not just an alias. Those are signs of deceit.” 

Arthur shrugged. “Or just someone who is cautious and trying to protect themselves. Whether it is because they’re dishonest or just distrusting, it doesn’t matter. Everyone has their own reasons that should be theirs and theirs alone.” 

Danse sighed. “Yeah… I suppose you’re right. I mean that’s how you met Analise, right?” 

In all the time they had known each other, Richard had always been the first person that Arthur had gone to for these things. Romance, problems and the occasional bitching about life and every little living thing on this planet. 

Back then, before she had realized who he really was, he’d gone by another name. John.

He thought back to that moment… the Muddy Rudder back in Rivet City, the way the drinks tasted and the way they had both played pool through the night, only to later that very same night end up in the Weatherly Hotel, making hazy love until the next morning. 

Her father had been furious, ordering his removal from both the Citadel, and her life, but Owyn Lyons had persisted, telling him how mutually beneficial it would be for Ana to marry the future High Elder. After that her father had agreed, letting the relationship between Arthur and Analise continue. 

She had eventually become his wife, but not a year after he’d been made Elder, her and Aiden had both perished. 

He chuckled through the grief. “Yeah… that’s true.” He looked up at the Paladin. “Do you like her? Alice?” 

Richard was lost in thought. “Alice… Alice was the most brash and uncaring person I’d ever met with the empathic ability of a hungry deathclaw…” He chuckled. 

Arthur asked again. “But do you like her?” 

Danse looked towards the door. “I don’t know… maybe.” 

 

* * *

 

It didn’t take long for Nathan to be assigned to Danse’s recon squad in his absence, and he found that it was one of the most exhilarating experiences he’d ever had since joining the Brotherhood of Steel. 

Sure Rhys was an ass with a major attitude problem, and Haylen had the emotional stability of a frightened chicken, but he couldn’t have asked for better people to have his back. And while Knight Rhys was uncaring about most things and most people, he never failed to take care of the mother of his unborn child. 

They all got to know each other pretty well over the few weeks Danse was back aboard the Prydwen, enjoying some good ol’ fashioned R&R, and Priors understood now that these people were growing on him. 

He, to his great surprise, considered them his friends. 

“Priors… we have a situation. There’s a large pack of ferals in the College Square that needs taking care of before they start moving in on the premise.” Rhys spoke dryly. 

Nathan chuckled. “Yeah, wouldn’t want those guys as roommates now would we?” 

Knight Rhys shrugged, unsure of how to respond to the prewar humor Priors often used, and at this point, Nate was used to being ignored by the man. So he took it with a grain of salt and got the details of the mission before moving out. 

 

* * *

  
  
Alice strolled amidst the rubble of the city, skipping atop broken pavement and dancing between crumbling buildings, feeling content with her days work. Yet another group of Raider scum eradicated from this earth, as she was currently on her way to Diamond City to collect the caps earned and the information needed for the next op. 

But for now… 

Drinks in Goodneighbour sounded like a pretty solid plan. 

Alice marked yet another location down on her pip-boy as found, counting all the new unique map markers, grinning wickedly at the thought of each and every one of them. All those raiders, gunners, ferals, mutants and synths that lay dead like a red draped cloak following her every step, filled her with thrill and pride. 

_ Yet another monster gone. _

Her goal was simple. 

Drink, kill and fuck her brains out, all the while making a hefty sum of caps for services well rendered. She was the one they all called out for when they had a pest problem, her being the exterminator. 

Mind you, this wasn’t the old Batman comics, where Gotham city magically shines a light into the sky, and the hero swoops in to save the day. No… because she was no hero. Just someone who didn’t mind getting her hands dirty. 

No, the people who needed her always spoke to the same person, in all the major settlements. 

The bartenders. 

Alice quietly swept down the stairs, into the old subway station, and quickly caught the attention of every drifter, brawler and mercenary in the place. But most importantly…

Whitechapel Charlie. 

The rusty old Mr. Handy spotted her instantly, pouring her usual Rum and Nuka Cherry, placing it on top of the bar, writing it up on her tab, which she really ought to pay, she thought to herself. 

But ever since that pesky Paladin had convinced her to hand over the Deep Range Transmitter to his precious team, she’d been a little short on caps. Charlie knew that she payed up eventually when she had the money. She always paid her debts. 

“Anythin’ else I can get ya, love?” The robot asked. 

She sipped on the drink. “Another contract would be fucking sweet.” 

“Hmm, might be a little difficult. No one’s asked for ya today.” 

She pursed her lips, pouting and sulking. She really needed the caps. 

Alice removed the hood, turned to the crowd around her, eyeing everyone that was staring, as many usually did. For one reason or the other. Her mask still kept her face hidden, but her eyes saw it all. 

There were the creeps, looking for a good time with the only hot thing in this place, apart from Magnolia that was. At least one of the creeps were likely to approach her before she left, asking for a round or two in the sack. 

Then there were the drifters, each and every one of them more than a little bit scared of her. They all secretly prayed that their names were never dropped by the bartender when Alice was closeby, and let out sighs of relief couples with thanking the Gods for their kindness when their names never were. She had a reputation for being one of the best, as far as mercenaries went. 

Then at last… the other mercs. MacCready and her got along well enough, both agreeing not to get into each others business, since what he did and what she did, were completely different things. He dealt in companionship, charging people for him to follow them on the open road, while Alice dealt in all things murder and mayhem. 

If you ever needed someone wiped off the face of the earth without a trace… Alice was the one you went to. 

Unfortunately, many of the other mercenaries in the Third Rail had the same speciality, and all of them were jealous of the young blonde for her extraordinary abilities in the trade. But so long as those men and women kept their distance - nothing was ever instigated more than a couple of sour looks and mean comments, something which she’d learned early on to ignore. There was no point in picking fights with these people, and besides… 

They were nowhere near as skilled as she was. 

It was only on very rare occasions that the woman turned down a contract, either because they were too obvious, too unjustified or too ridiculous to even consider. Killing politicians, small babies or poisoning a bundle of small house-cats was just not something she was interested in doing. 

Alice drank the last of her drink, ordering yet another one. At some point a horny brawler approached, looking for some of her time, to which she replied with a not so polite “fuck off”. He did, leaving her alone. She nursed her drink, hunching over the bar, trying to remember how this had all started. 

_ Guess it was at Bunker Hill. _

When the mysterious girl with no past had set foot inside the settlement for the first time and Deb, the merchant, had offered her a hefty sum to off some ugly ferals, Alice had gladly accepted. 

She had no caps, little ammo left and no armor to shield her, so a contract like that was a big deal for her back then. Now it was just like a Sunday dinner with your parents after lying your ass off to the priest in confession. 

_ “No, father, I did not just come from banging five guys in a storage closet where I let all of them fuck my tight little ass, no sir. I would never do something so disgraceful.”  _

It was like child’s play for her, even back then. Lying was a talent of hers, no matter how unethical it may be. 

So after that first one, Deb just kept them coming, paying her more and more for each one. Kessler had taken notice, and so had Joe Savoldi, the owner of the bar, who got requests in from tired caravaners, looking to rid themselves of problems on the road. And Alice was more than happy to take their money, and even happier to spend it. 

She spent the first caps she ever made on a new gun and ammunition to accompany it. The second one went wholly into getting a seamstress in the great green jewel to even  _ consider  _ making her now iconic armor. A tight fitting black chest piece, reminding her of a heavily armored turtleneck, with equally protecting tights and boots to complete the set. The hood and cape, she’d made herself from what was left of the ballistic weave she’d given the woman, and the bandana she’d looted off the first person she’d killed since setting foot in the Commonwealth. 

This was what defined her. The skull bandana, the black cape and the most notable thing… the bow and arrow. 

Many had over the many months she’d been in the business, asked her why she used such a medieval hunting tool, to which she simply replied with one thing;

_ “Have you ever had the pleasure of picking off an assole from twenty paces with nothing but a bow and a couple of arrows.”  _

To which they all replied the same thing; 

_ Never.  _

It was her signature thing. 

Shoot them a couple to times with the armor piercing arrows, it they refused to die, pick them off one by one with her silenced 10mm  _ Angel,  _ and then end with yet another arrow. She took pleasure in knowing that these people would never hurt someone else again. 

Vigilante justice, they called in before the war. 

She called peace of mind. 

Alice finished her second drink and ordered the third and last one. 

Her third and fourth pay had gone into finding someone to make her trusty side arm and with the skill to make the arrows to her liking, which was no easy task. No one knew of such a person, not even Hancock who knew every weapons dealer out there, but Alice didn’t give up. 

She wandered the ‘Wealth for weeks, taking minor contracts to fund her expedition, until she stumbled upon Leonard Moore, quite by accident. One of her contracts had been to clear out the Museum of Witchcraft in Salem, when she’d noticed the open sign. 

Alice had approached the man who had insisted on selling her something simpler than what she was requesting, but when she explained that she’d give him three thousand caps for both the bow and two hundred arrows, he had accepted. He’d found, to her great surprise and even greater excitement, an Osage Orange tree, one of the best trees to make the weapon out of. Because of the appreciation, Alice had thrown in yet another thousand for his troubles, which he had thanked her greatly for, promising that if she ever needed a refill of arrows, he would be the person she should speak to. 

And that’s how she found herself, at least once every two weeks, treading the dangerous road to Salem just to buy the ammunition and to enjoy a lovely cup of hubflower tea. On rare occasions, he made the trip to Diamond City, leaving the ammo with Arturo for her to collect at her leisure. 

When Alice was finished with the last of her drink, she rose, looking to escape the crowd and into hotel Rexford for a good night’s sleep. But in the corner of the room, somebody rose with her, catching up with the young woman quickly. 

They had barely made it to the side entrance of the statehouse when the other hooded stranger had pulled her into a dark alley. She wasn’t the least bit afraid of what they might do to her… she was stronger than she looked and the stranger didn’t look bigger than she was. 

She snarled. “So what do you want, stranger? If you’re looking for a fuck, I’m sure Magnolia is up for it.” 

The stranger removed his hood, revealing a middle built, black man underneath wearing a Minutemen outfit and a cowboy hat. 

He took a deep breath. “I have a contract for you.” 

Alice huffed in annoyance. “Well, Charlie said I had none and I’m off duty, so leave it with him and I’ll take care of it whenever I have the time.” She started walking away, to which the stranger replied by tugging her back into the darkness of the secluded alleyway. 

“It’s a private contract. On a strictly need to know basis. All I need to know if you would do it?” 

It piqued her interest. “You’ve got my attention, Mr…?” 

“Garvey… Preston Garvey, ma’am. You’re Alice, right?” 

She smirked underneath her mask. “The one and only. So tell me about this contract, Mr Garvey.” 

“As you probably figured out by my uniform, I’m with the Minutemen.” She nodded. “We need your help, and fast.” 

She snorted. “Look, I don’t do charity.” 

“I know… Which is why I’m willing to pay you six thousand caps for the job.” 

“Listening.” She replied. 

“Right… so little under a year ago, our General left the Minutemen behind at Sanctuary Hills to basically fend for ourselves. Despite him leaving, and us being down on our luck for a while, we did eventually manage to gather up-” 

“I don’t need that many details… just tell me the job and be done with it.” She cut him off in annoyance. 

“Alright…” He said with uncertainty. “I need you to head over to the Castle, kill the vicious beast there and secure the com system for the Minutemen.” 

Alice’s eyes pried open. “Okay… when I said I needed  _ less  _ details, I didn’t mean  _ that  _ few. First of all, the Castle? What is that?” 

“You’ve never heard of the Castle?” She shook her head. “Well, it used to be called Fort Independence back before the great war. Before General Becker died, it used to be our headquarters. It has one of the strongest communications system in the Commonwealth.” 

“Saves me the trouble of asking…” She muttered. “So what sort of vicious beast are we talking about here? An Alpha Deathclaw? A couple of Radscorpions?” He was quiet. “Well?” 

He reluctantly spoke. “No one knows… no one has ever returned alive to tell the tale.” 

Alice sighed deeply. “Alright, so go in, kill the beast and secure the com system. Should be a piece of strawberry shortcake. Anything else?” 

Preston almost skipped in glee. “So you’ll do it? Thank you so much, you have no idea-” She put her hand in the air to silence him. 

“Yes, but if it really is as dangerous as you make it out to be, I’m gonna need backup. At least twenty people, or more. If you can gather that many, then I’m aboard.” 

Garvey nodded enthusiastically. “Of course. What time should we meet you at the Castle?” 

“How long would it take for you to gather that many?” 

He shrugged. “A week, I think. Do you think you could meet us at the Castle on Friday next week? Say around-” 

“I don’t do jobs before twelve at noon, I’m not an early bird, princess.” 

He nodded with a big grin on his face. “Of course, let’s say one o’clock on Friday then.” Preston extended his hand, and she reluctantly shook it. As she was walking away, Alice turned back to him. 

“Garvey.” He replied with a yes. “The price is up to seven thousand. And if I’m injured, you’re paying the medical treatment. Got it?” 

“Alright. Seven thousand and medical treatment. Got it.” 

_ She never waved, just walked away back into shadows where he was sure Alice was born. Without a whisper, and without a trace, she was gone.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woho! Some Minutemen backstory! I’m skipping with glee. I’m happy to inform you that I’ve just finished writing chapter 18, so I have material for a while. I think I’ll update this story about twice a week (sometimes three times) so keep an eye out ;). Also, this story will have considerably longer chapters than Deep sea since I had so much to write about, so I hope that makes you happy. Special shoutout to HancockBlocked! I’m glad that you liked your gift, hon ;) I just realized that out of all the gifts you’ve received, at least half are from me XD I just can’t help it! I’m like your biggest fan! You’re like my online wifu ;) 
> 
> And thanks to all you others as well, don’t think I’ve forgotten about you! Thank you all so much for reading and sticking with the story! Until next time, JA NE!


	5. Just Alice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning! Contains smut; but not the one you probably wanted XD It's FSS/Demo [A raider boss from Hardware town]. 
> 
> Note the new tags!

Maxson stood, overlooking the Commonwealth, hoping that if he scouted long enough, the Institute might just magically appear out of thin air. He knew it was ridiculous of course, but it was better than just standing, gazing at the door to the Flight Deck, counting down the hours when he could finally be boots on the ground again. 

Ever since they’d rolled into the ‘Wealth, Arthur had been stuck on the ship as per Cade and Quinlan’s requests, them giving him some bogus story of how he was needed aboard the Prydwen at all times. 

The Elder knew far too well why he was to remain aboard. 

As the last Maxson, he was far too valuable to lose. 

But once the Institute was found, and a final assault was planned, Arthur would be there. No matter how many Proctors he had to fight through to kick the door open. He wanted to do it for the safety of the Commonwealth, no doubt, but equally as much, he wanted to do it to finally be able to get off this blasted ship and out into the world. 

Maxson had wanted to see Diamond City for himself, after everything he’d heard about it. He wanted to set eyes upon the Bunker Hill monument. Hell, he’d even settle for a lousy drink and a pleasant jazz tune down at the Third Rail in the ghoul infested paradise Goodneighbor, if it meant escaping this prison. 

The Elder sighed, knowing that such a thing wouldn’t be possible even if it had been done in the past. 

After Analise and Aiden had passed, Arthur had more than once escaped the Citadel in the middle of the night, heading into Megaton for the occasional one-night stand. Whenever he struck out, or the crowd just wasn’t up to his standards, Nova would be the only woman he needed.

He often thought of her in his lonesome, as she had gotten him through some pretty rough nights, both past and present. But the one thing he always felt guilty over was how sorry he felt for the woman. Ever since she’d borrowed money from Moriarty, she’d been stuck in that place, selling the only thing of value she had. 

Her body. 

Maxson really ought to go pay her a visit when he returned to the Capital Wasteland, he thought. It had been far too long since any sort of sexual contact had been made, and people had started taking notice of his frustrations. 

Several female Scribes, Knights and Paladins had eagerly offered themselves in service of the Elder, all of whom he had politely, but unmistakably, turned down. To be honest, all of them were lovely, but every single one were looking for something that he just refused to give them, and quite frankly, something that frightened him ever since Ana had passed. 

A deeper commitment. 

Despite what people thought, Arthur had loved her with all of his heart, and even more so once Aiden had been born. Many assumed that Maxson had only married her to continue the family name, but ever since the Muddy Rudder and Rivet City, Arthur had been smitten by the young brunette with a mother’s kindness and her father’s sense of politics. Her eyes were the most beautiful shade of gray ever known to man, with a smile that could make any man fall in love. 

She eclipsed the whole of her gender, and to Arthur, she was  _ the  _ woman. 

Analise was the only one he had ever loved before and since then. 

And he couldn’t help to wonder sometimes what his life would have become, had he never met her that night. 

_ What life would I have lead?  _

  
  


Nathan grabbed the duffle bag off the floor, heading straight for the gym at the airport, hoping to get some training in before tucking in for the night. It was late, far too late for anyone else to be utilizing the premises, and yet, through the darkened and dirty window, he could gleen the lit lamps. 

He wondered who might be up at this hour. 

As he was walking through the empty corridor, loud grunts and hard hits to a punching bag could be heard clear as day, but they were not groans he recognized. When he turned the corner, he saw Paladin Danse hitting furiously, clad in nothing but boxing shorts and wrapped knuckles. 

The recovering Paladin didn’t even notice the Knight until he was standing right next to him, in an identical outfit, hitting the other boxing bag. The Paladin took a break, eyeing the Knights foot to hand coordination, pleasantly surprised with the technique. 

“You’re good.” He finally said, taken aback that he had spoken at all. 

Nate turned to the man. “Thanks… so are you. Your swing is a little bit off, but that’s to be expected a couple of weeks out of recovery.” 

Richard was both disappointed at the man’s brutal honesty and glad for his praise for his superior officer. Danse kept on punching, paying no additional attention to the brunet Knight on his right. That was until Priors stopped his workout, turning to Danse again.

“They’re doing alright, in case you were wondering. Haylen is doing well so far through the pregnancy, and Rhys is… well…” 

The Paladin finished his thought. “Rhys is Rhys. And the reinforcements? They’re all good?” 

Nate shrugged. “Yes and no. Some are still adapting to the Commonwealth, and others are happy to be off the Prydwen. Their training has been sufficient though, thank God, if that was what you were referring to.” 

“Not really, but thanks for the update.” It grew silent between the two, both men never having been properly introduced, therefore, they’d never said so much as a word to each other. 

Nathan finally extended his hand. “I’m Nathan. Nathan Priors.” 

The Paladin shook it. “Richard Danse. Pleasure to meet you, Knight Priors.” 

“Pleasure to meet you too, Paladin Danse.” He let go of Danse’s hand and paused for a moment, trying to prolong the conversation, but finding it difficult to come up with a question.  

Eventually the Paladin solved that predicament. 

“How long have you been in the Brotherhood, Priors?” 

Nate furrowed his brows, trying to recall. “Around a year, I think. Stopped counting after the first few weeks.” 

“I know what you mean. After a while, the Brotherhood becomes your entire life… you stop counting because you finally feel at home.” 

Maybe the Paladin was right about finally feeling at home, but to Nathan, the Brotherhood was just a means to an end, at least until he found Shaun. After that, he had to decide what was best for his son, and if that meant leaving the Brotherhood for good, then so be it. 

“Yeah.” Nate replied after a while. “Suppose you’re right.” 

There wasn’t much working out after that… just two people enjoying a late night conversation about everything and nothing at all. 

And that’s the story of how Nate Priors and Richard Danse became friends. 

  
  


Alice stalked the shadows, searching from shelter from the biting cold and bitter rain that had unexpectedly fallen sometime during the night. She had done a favor for Hancock by rubbing out Bobby No-Nose, when she was got caught unaware by the sudden hail. 

The hooded woman crouched behind a car, scouting ahead before quickly abandoning the open street, and continued down the next. There was little to no chance of pressing on and reaching the ghoul town before it would be impossible to see anything but your hand in front of you, so she knew she had to find shelter soon, lest the merc be caught with her pants down when the supermutants came knocking. 

Alice knew she should have set for Diamond City and seeked shelter there, or possibly even some ruin or small building on the way that might be safe enough from both storm and people, but right now she was heading in the opposite direction. Towards Goodneighbor. 

There were not a whole lot of places on the road where the Commonwealth might offer up some shelter and security, but on the street she was walking, there were at least some, hopefully, abandoned buildings. 

Then again, she had heard about a place called the Combat Zone from a guard in Diamond City. 

And while it was a bar for raiders, she was sure she could easily enough pass for one, provided she wear the right attitude on her sleeve. 

Alice opened up her pip-boy, ignoring the droplets that covered most of the screen, and looked for the marker she had put up from the guards directions, and headed for the watering hole. 

It wasn’t hard to spot it, with all of the raiders hanging around outside, and the massive signs pointing straight at it. No, the hard part was getting past the people and passing for one of them. 

One of them spotted her instantly, raising her hand. “The fuck you doing here?” 

She snarled at the woman. “The fuck does it look like? I’m here for a fucking drink.” 

Most of them sniggered, but one individual was frozen in fear, stammering incoherently. 

“Y-Y-You’re h-her… You’re A-Alice.” People stopped laughing, realizing that the man was right. Almost all of them raised their weapons, aiming at her while others ran for cover. 

“Look, we don’t want any trouble. We’re just-” 

She cut the other woman off. “Don’t worry, you big pussies. I’m not here for a contract… I’m here for a drink, and to watch the fight. Are you gonna let me through or stand there gawking all day?” 

Like Moses and the Red Sea, people parted and let the merc pass unharmed, fearing her more than the Devil himself. 

The undeniable stench of sweat, alcohol, puke and smoke caught her attention, and she forced herself to stop gagging; trying to convince her brain that she’d smelled worse, as she continued down the hallway, towards the bar counter. 

The bartender eyed her suspiciously. “Who are you?” 

“Not important. I have caps and I want a drink.” She replied with confidence. 

The bartender raised her brows, tugged her lips downward and shrugged. 

“Fair enough. So what can I get you, sweetcheeks?” Alice ignored the inappropriate comment and ordered her usual, a rum with nuka cherry, and watched closely as the person behind the bar made it. More than once, some sorry fucker thought they might test their luck by drugging her, but they’d all learned the hard way that doing so… was the last thing they ever did. 

Still, the hangover from chems left much to be desired. 

So she stuck with alcohol. 

The bartender placed the drink in front of her. “That’ll be fifty caps.” She fronted the caps, throwing them up on the counter for the woman behind the counter to stare at. “Wow… most of the people here try to at least flirt their way out of paying.”

Alice shrugged. “I’m enough of a people person to know that you’re not somebody who accepts that kind of currency.” 

The woman laughed. “That’s true. Doesn’t stop any of these assholes, though. So… anything else I can get you stranger?” She said seductively. 

Alice had previously faced the cage, but now turned her attention back to the bartender, eyeing her up and down. She smirked underneath the mask. 

“Well… I’d love a bed and a good fuck, but I’m not sure you’re up for it, sweetheart.” The woman smirked back. 

“Well then you obviously don’t know me.” She said, swaying her hips. “My shift ends in five minutes. I’ve got a room in the back, if you’re interested.” 

Alice got a good look at the woman. 

Short chocolate brown hair with equally brown eyes, big and dusted with way too much makeup, a young facade that was clean and free of blemishes, no discernible scars or imperfections, a big, wide smile with a row of pristine white teeth and a cute button nose. 

Her breasts were of average size, not too big and, thank the Gods and Almighty above, not too small. Petite, clean and hands free of flaking skin, indicating quite a lush lifestyle away from this hellish one.

Alice saw her for what she truly was. 

She shook her head. “Not a chance,  _ spy _ .” The bartender’s face dropped. “If you’re looking for information, I’m not one to spill her secrets. Plus, I’m not a raider.” The brunette looked surprised. “So here’s the deal,  _ Bartender.  _ I know what you are and where you’re from. I don’t want to get tangled up in the Institute’s business. Been there, done that. So I’ll be the client, ordering nothing more than drinks and keeping my pretty mouth shut. Capishe?” 

The bartender nodded hastily, surprised that Alice had deduced her real reason for being there, but appreciative that she wasn’t the blabbering type, and made the mercenary another drink. 

“On the house.” She said, blushingly. 

The merc nodded in response, keeping quiet as promised, and watched the ring as the match between a redheaded brawler and a big burly sorry son of a fuck, came to an end. With one last slash, the woman slit the man’s throat and left him laying for the bouncers to collect before the next fight. 

_ Now that’s a woman I would gladly fuck.  _

The brawler was tough, that much was obvious, but with a soft side as well, which was not so apparent, with a sort of girlish charm surrounding her. Alice liked that sort of thing. Someone who could be both a lover and a fighter. 

_ “And the defending champion takes the prize once again, ladies and gentlemen of the Combat Zone… Cait!”  _ The announcer yelled, the sound booming from the speakers around the establishment. Some of the raiders cheered, no doubt those who had bet on the red headed one, while others reluctantly clapped, probably having lost quite a considerable amount of caps. 

Alice watched as people went around the place, collecting the caps from the losing betters, and thanked them for their business. All they got were rude comments and angry snarls… not that they cared. They were just like her. So long as they got their money, they didn’t care what they had to endure. 

A collector came by her, holding up a palm. 

“Pay up.” 

She eyed the bastard. “Not a fucking chance, bucko. I didn’t bet on anyone.” 

He smirked. “Well, you’re watching the fight. That’s a hundred cap fee right there.” Alice sipped the last of her drink, and stared the man straight in the eye. He didn’t budge the slightest, just kept holding out his palm. 

“Here’s the thing, Mr. Whatever.” He snarled at her words. “I ain’t giving you shit. Now, I don’t want to start a fight at such a nice… establishment. So what I will pay are drinks that I drink and the bets that I place… and that’s it.” 

“Tony… I wouldn’t mess with her.” Someone in the back said calmly. 

The man, Tony, turned to them. “And why the fuck not, Demo?” 

“Dude… don’t you know who that is?” Tony shrugged. “That’s Alice. You know…  _ the  _ Alice.” 

Tony spun around, meeting the merc’s angry glare with a frightened expression and quickly withdrew his sweaty palm from her sight. He gave a quick apology and went on his way, back to try and trick some other poor fuck out of their money. 

Alice meanwhile, turned her attention to the new presence at the bar. A big gnarly man with a bald head and red beard. His eyes looked hollow and dead, but were a pleasant shade of brown mixed with ember. His hands were rough and big as he extended one for her to shake. 

“Demo.” She shook it. 

“Alice.” the merc replied. 

“Yeah… I gathered by the cape and the bow. So what brings you here, Alice? Someone on your hit list, perhaps? It wouldn’t me little ole’ me by any chance?” 

She shook her head. “Nope… just here for a drink and to watch the fights.” 

Demo laughed. “It couldn’t be that you got caught in the rain and needed a dry place to wait it out in?” 

She smiled. “Maybe… that the reason why you’re here?” 

He scratched his beard and leaned back in the barstool, eyeing her up and down, trying to take in every little detail that he could. There wasn’t a lot for him to gleen, she’d made sure of that by wearing the cape and the mask, but the general outlines were still there. And then there were her beautiful azure eyes that escaped no one’s attention. 

“Might be. Or might be that I’m here to watch my guys try to take down that bitch in the cage.” Alice looked down the steps towards the aforementioned cage where Cait had won yet another fight. “So far, they’re fucking useless.” 

She chuckled lowly. “Yeah, I can tell… You know, she’s not really that good. Sure, she’s got some pretty decent moves, but the technique is all fucked up. I bet you a thousand caps that she’s high as fuck.” 

He nodded with a smirk. “That she is. Strung out on psycho by the looks of it. Sounds like you’re just itching to take that bitch down.” 

Alice shrugged. “Maybe. It’s been awhile since the last time I fought. But like you said… I’m not really here for the fights. Plus… as soon as the rain lets up, I’m heading out.” 

Demo leaned in close, whispering into her ear. “Maybe I could make you stay a little while longer. Tommy lets me use his office for… let’s just say, unsavory business. Interested?” 

She had to admit… he wasn’t half bad. Sure, it was obvious by his outfit that the man was a fucking raider, but at least he was good looking. And the heavily muscled body was a plus. Demo put a hand on her thigh, stroking it up and down until he reached in between her legs and started rubbing her sore clit. 

Even through the thick tights, she could feel the heat from his warm palms, and fuck if her sanity wasn’t slipping through her fingers again. 

“I don’t give a fuck how hard we do it, but the bandana and my top stays on. Just saying.” He smirked, panting heavily. 

“Yeah?” She nodded. “Alright then.” She grabbed his hand. 

As they passed the cage, she caught the brawler’s eye. From up close, she was actually quite attractive. 

She was gonna use that image while Demo was fucking her brains out. 

  
  


Tommy’s office, turns out, was just a small space behind the wall, with a single bed, a desk and a chair was placed out methodically around the room. Demo removed his caged armor, throwing it on the ground, revealing his built upper body that made her mouth water. 

Alice felt her pussy getting wetter, dampening her dainty panties with slick, and she couldn’t help but to moan. 

He grabbed her instantly, tearing off her cape and letting her orion blonde locks fall, framing her oval shaped face. Demo grabbed it, jerking her head backwards. When he was about to tear off her mask, she grabbed his hand, pinching the nerves. 

“Hey… bandana on, remember?” He nodded through gritted teeth, abandoning the idea of seeing her without it, in favor of fondling her tits. Alice roughly raked her nails on his chest, making him grunt in pleasure. 

“I’m gonna fuck you so hard.” Demo rasped out, erection poking her hip. 

“Yeah?” She chuckled. “Then what the fuck are you waiting for?” At the sound of her challenge, he whipped her around, bent her over Tommy’s desk and tore off her tights and panties, all in one go. He stroked the tip of his cock against her clit and started rubbing. 

“Fuck… today, please?” He thrust forward, burying himself to the hilt inside of her tight cunt and started ramming into her with such force the table started creaking. 

“You’re a dirty slut, aren’t you?” 

She moaned. “Fuck no… I just know what I want.” 

He chuckled, grabbing onto her hips tighter as he slammed into her harder and harder. He grunted loudly, telling her what a whore and a slut she was, Alice rolling her eyes at the comments. She moved her hands from the table, guiding it between her legs and rubbed her swollen clit until she saw pretty little stars dancing behind her eyelids. 

Demo on the other hand, spit on his fingers, circling around her asshole before nudging his fingers inside. At stimuli was too much for her, having gone far too long without a proper fuck, that it sent her over the edge screaming. Alice swore she blacked out then and there, and had it not been for his continued banging, she would have. 

“Fuck, I just love it when a girl comes. Her tight little-” She spun around, grabbing his jaw. 

“Enough with the dirty talk. Just fuck me and be done with it.” He responded by slapping her hard on her ass cheek with his other hand, still with his fingers inside of her ass. He twisted them and kept on doing so while he fucked her into the next millennia. 

She screamed as her second orgasm hit like a monsoon, raking through her entire body with such force it made him pull out and spill all over the floor. She thanked the stars above that none had gotten on her clothes, or inside of her for that matter, otherwise she might have murdered the poor fellah. And so soon after showing him the time of his life. 

They dressed in silence, only the sound of the fights, the cheering crowd and their heavy pants could be heard. Reluctantly, he placed the cape in her hands, but not before sniffing it. She tore it from his hands, leaning in close. 

She lifted her bandana when she was close enough for him to be unable to see what was underneath and kissed him hard, until his knees buckled. Alice pulled back, pulling the cape over her head, and clasping it tightly in both the neck region, but also into the bandana to prevent the hood from falling off her head. 

Demo smirked. “You’re really something else, huh, Alice?” She walked away, leaving the man to take care of the cleanup, blowing a kiss at him. 

“Moi? I’m just Alice, nothing more…” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pheeew, hot and steamy, right? Well, maybe not the smut you were looking for, but hey, that’ll come my little darlings, just be patient. So, if you’re wondering where I got the idea for Alice’s appearance, imagine her having Charlize Theron’s face and very bright blonde wavy hair with bangs (or fringe as the Brit’s say).   
> Anyways, thanks so much for reading, it’s always nice to know that someone is ^^ Also, thanks to all of those who left a comment, I love reading those. Sooo…  
> Until next time, JA NE!


	6. Reunions in Wonderland

She had promised, come Friday, to be outside of the Castle walls prepared for the fight of her life, which was exactly what she was preparing for when the drifter had approached. She wore a mask, not even her eyes visible, and the voice was muffled, but Alice could have sworn that it was a woman from the sound of that sweet alto tune. 

As Goodneighbor was usually a place for misfits and drifters, as well as people looking for her, she payed the other woman no mind… until she came close enough for Alice to smell her. 

“We need to talk.” She said angrily. 

“If you’re here about the Deep Range Transmitter, I already told you… the Brotherhood got it first. I can’t very well skip into the Cambridge Police station and demand it back, now can I?” The stranger grabbed her arm hard enough for her to winch. 

She leaned in real close and whispered into Alice’s ear; “I expect you to do the job I payed you to do. I paid five hundred upfront-”

The merc retracted her arm. “That’s my deal with every client. Half for  _ considering  _ the job. I went out there, wasted half my arrows, for nothing. The Brotherhood got there first.” She spat back. 

The stranger was dressed head to toe in black, and just like Alice herself, she wore a thick cloak that completely devoured her frame, engulfing her. 

“I have sources that say otherwise. Said you handed it over to them. Just dropped it off at their doorstep, without even collecting any caps. What kind of a mercenary does that, huh?” 

Alice shrugged. “I was doing a favor for a friend. You offered a thousand… they offered more.” 

“Well now I’m offering ten thousand for you to sabotage it.” 

The merc snorted at her request. “Not a fucking chance. I’m not going in there. I’d die.” 

“So you’re working for the Brotherhood of Steel? Did I not make it clear for you  _ not  _ to cross us? Or did that slip your mind?” 

Alice finished the final touches on her new mods on Angel before putting it in its holster. She grabbed her laser rifle, Devil, and started cleaning it. The merc sat down on the bench, ignoring the other woman. But the stranger wasn’t finished with her. 

She slammed her fist into the table. “Look, you little bitch. We had a deal. The Institute doesn’t take lightly to people fucking them over, so let me make one thing clear… the next time something like this happens… we’re coming after you. Got it?” 

Alice eyed the woman sourly. “Got it.” She replied calmly, resuming her work. 

The stranger turned around, walking away, but turned back for one final word. 

“Oh and by the way, Miss Kingsley.” Alice shot up at the sound of her real last name, a name no one was supposed to know. “We know who you are, and where to find you. No matter where you run… we’ll always find you.” 

The stranger walked away, leaving a startled Alice in her wake. 

 

* * *

 

Nathan Priors was by no means an early riser, so when he finally got the chance to sleep in, he took it. And today was no different. He’d slept all through the night, free of the nightmares that usually plagued his aching soul, and woke up wonderfully rested for a change. 

Paladin Danse was the first one who met him in the mess hall, greeting him with a warm smile and a wave. Nate waved back. 

“Priors. Have a seat.” He said. 

“Just gotta grab breakfast and then I will.” Nathan quickly shuffled some poor excuse for porridge into his bowl and grabbed a cup of hubflower tea before sitting down next to the fully recovered Paladin and the rest of recon Squad Gladius, who were happy for the rotation that provided them with the luxury of returning to the Prydwen for a couple of weeks. 

Haylen smiled gently at him, rubbing her growing belly. 

“You look chirper this morning, Priors.” She said with the warmth of a mother. 

Nate smiled back. “Yeah. A good night’s sleep will do that to a man.” 

Rhys nodded. “Indeed. I’ve been sleeping like a baby now that I’m back aboard this beast. Can’t say I’ve slept well knowing that ferals could be charging through the door at any second.” 

Danse replied instead of Nathan. “That’s true. No one sleeps well on field missions, and for a very good reason.” Haylen shrugged. 

“And why is that?” 

The Paladin smiled sadly. “Because the moment you relax, the Commonwealth will devour you.” 

Arthur watched from a distance as the soldiers in the mess hall conversed in the early morning, sipping on his tea and eating porridge, every day amazed over just how easy it was for them all to connect. 

Maxson was the Elder, which meant a life of loneliness. He never ate with his fellow brothers and sisters, never showered in the communal showers and never spoke to them other than for official purposes. 

Sometimes he wished he had what they all had. 

Comerardery. 

The chance to feel like part of a group instead of above it. Every time he tried sitting down next to his brothers and sisters in arms, they all assumed that he wanted the table all for himself, and quickly scurried off to either resume their tasks, or finish their meals at another table. 

It both infuriated him and made him feel inadequate as a human being. No matter where he went, Maxson was always outside of the group. On board the Prydwen at least. 

Back at the Citadel, Arthur always had someone to sit with at the superiors table, together with people of the same level of command as he had. Occasionally, a fellow soldier would bring their spouse or child to sit with them, filling the table with a sense of family and partnership that brightened his entire day. 

Sometimes, thinking back to that table and those times made Maxson’s day that much better, and sitting alone no longer fazed him as much. He pretended he was back at the Citadel, having his regular meal, with his regular peers, with their regular conversations and stories. 

“Elder?” Haylen spoke experimentally. Maxson raised his head and looked at the woman. 

“Scribe. What can I do for you?” She sat down opposite to him, smiling warmly. 

“I think you’ve already figured out that I’m pregnant.” 

He nodded. “Yes, that much was obvious.” 

“Yes, I suppose it is.” She paused for a moment before continuing. “I would like to request some time off, to resume duties aboard the Prydwen instead of out in the Commonwealth if that’s alright with you?” 

Arthur smiled, a rare feat for the man. “Of course, Haylen. I will speak to Ingram and have her build a crib. I’ve already spoken to Kells about finding you a private room, for when the child is born.” 

She raised her brows in surprise. “Thank you, Elder. That would be most kind. I wonder if it might also be possible for you to… well… I don’t really know how to say it.” 

“Try.” He said reassuringly. 

“I figured you might also have deduced that Rhys is the father.” Arthur nodded. “Well, would it be possible for him to share that room?” 

“Yes, the original assumption was that you were going to.” 

“Thank you, Elder.” She grinned widely, showing her white teeth. “I also wondered if you might… officiate the wedding.” 

Maxson raised his brows. “You’ve decided to get married then?” 

“Yes. And preferably as fast as possible, if you could manage? I know it’s short notice, but-” He cut her off with a warm chime. 

“Of course, Haylen. I suppose I should call you Scribe Rhys from now on?” 

She shook her head. “I’m keeping my last name. Actually, I’m hyphenating it. So I’ll be Haylen-Rhys.” 

Arthur nodded. “I understand.” Arthur downed the last of his tea, wiping his mouth on a napkin. “I’ll get to it straight away. Will you write your own vows?” 

She shrugged. “We haven’t talked about it. But I think we’re just going to have a standard ceremony, so standard vows are probably for the best. Neither one of us are good with expressing our feelings, and certainly not in front of people.” 

“I see… well in that case, I’ll be done by tomorrow. After that, you can set a date and we’ll perform a short ceremony. Invite the ones you want present and then give me a day’s notice.” She rose with him, placing a gentle hand on his forearm. 

“Thank you so much, Arthur. You have no idea how much this means to us.” He returned her smile. 

“You’re very welcome, Emily.” Maxson left, feeling a little more at peace with the world. 

 

* * *

 

Haylen returned to the table, taking a seat next to her husband-to-be, feeling as he reached under the table and rubbed her growing baby bump. 

“So what did he say?” Rhys asked. 

“He’ll do it. I asked for standard vows, so he’ll be done by tomorrow. He’s also already spoken with Kells.” 

“About what?” Nate asked. 

“About getting our own room. Figured that a screaming baby might wake you up if he or she is out in the open in the barracks.” The other Knight replied.

“The only available room aboard the ship is the one next to mine.” Danse muttered under his breath with a groan. 

“I’m sorry, Danse.” Emily said. 

He shook his head. “No, it’s fine. Now that I’m fully recovered, I figured I might return to the police station soon enough. It’s not even going to affect me.” Nate snorted. 

“You know that the baby isn’t going to be born for at least another couple of months, right? You’ll be back in the Capital Wasteland by then.” He said.  

The Paladin looked at him strangely, as did Haylen and Rhys. 

“What?” Nate asked. 

“We’re not going to leave the Commonwealth just yet. Even if we do manage to find the Institute before the child is born, the Brotherhood is establishing a permanent chapter here. Danse, Rhys and I have requested to stay in the new chapter, at least for a couple of years until we go back to the Capital Wasteland.” Emily replied. “You’re not coming with, are you?” She finally asked. 

“No.” Nathan replied, remembering his vow to decide how to deal with the Brotherhood issue when he’d found Shaun, not that he’d told any of them. “You all know why I joined the Brotherhood in the first place.” 

“Yeah, to find your son.” Rhys said. “So you’re going to stay in the Commonwealth chapter then?” 

Nate shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ll see what’s best for Shaun when I find him. If it turns out that the Brotherhood is no place for him, then I’ll part ways with you.” They once again started strangely. “What is it now?” 

“That’s desertion, Priors. You can’t just leave the Brotherhood of Steel like that. Not even for your child.” Nathan cursed himself for not knowing that when he’d joined up, only now realizing why he rarely saw young soldiers that had left the force for good. 

He sighed. “Well then, I guess I’m staying with you guys.” 

Danse smiled and chuckled. “No one told you about that?” 

Nate shook his head. “Nope. Maxson basically found me in an alley, took me in like I was a stray cat and put me in a uniform. Quinlan told me the basics of the Brotherhood’s history and rules, but that’s it.” 

“I see… well, then we have a lot to teach you.” 

During the next couple of minutes they went back and forth, trying to teach the pre war soldier all about the military he had now joined. They didn’t stop until a Scribe stormed in, Elder in tow, shouting out orders. 

“Forces sighted at the Castle!” The woman yelled.

“Forces? What sort are we talking about?” Danse asked, watching as Maxson approached the group. 

“No idea. All we know is that the Minutemen are trying to retake the Castle.” 

Nate gasped. 

_ Garvey. _

 

* * *

  
  


_ Half an hour earlier.  _

Alice had reached the Castle hours too early, barely having slept at all, prepared to wait until the reinforcements showed up. In case the beast really was as dangerous as Preston had made it out to be, she abstained from doing some quick recon before they arrived. 

But when Alice arrived at the location, the forces were already there, patiently waiting for her instead of the other way around. They spotted her instantly, waving her into a small building that had once been a café before the war. 

Preston was shocked to see her. “Hey… I thought you said that you’d be here after one.” She shrugged and placed her bow and quiver on the counter, taking a seat on one of the stools. 

“Couldn’t sleep. So, any idea what we’re dealing with?” 

He shook his head. “No, still nothing. We haven’t gotten close enough to the courtyard to inspect it. We’re trying to device a plan, but so far we keep butting heads on how to do this.” 

She nodded. “So what are your ideas?” 

A woman, barely out of her teens, took the initiative. “I say we hit ‘em from both sides… it’ll be easier than shooting fish in a barrel.” 

Another argued against it. “Nah, let’s make up a firing line, and someone will draw them out. Once they’re in our sights, we pick them off one by one.” 

A third person chimed in. “Or we go in guns blazing. Hope for the best.” 

Alice pointed at them as she spoke. “Maybe, maybe, and hell no. If there’s one thing that I’ve learned through this line of work is that you never go in guns blazing. I like the firing line idea… You’d set up the line, I draw them out. If there are any complications, I’ll shoot an arrow into the air and you swoop in. All aboard the crazy train?” 

They nodded amongst themselves, agreeing with her strategy. Preston rounded them all up in a circle, dealing out tasks as she sat still, counting her ammo and marking the location on the pip-boy. After Garvey was done, he cautiously approached her. 

“Hey, is that a pip-boy?” She nodded, never taking her eyes off the screen. “Wow… I’ve heard about those. Are they any good?” 

“If you know how to use them, they can save your life. Otherwise, it’s just a fancy toy on your wrist.” Alice looked up, meeting his chocolate brown gaze. “Alright, I’m all set. Tell me when you’re ready to go and I’ll-” 

“We’re done.” Came a shout from afar. She got up from her seat, grabbing anything of value and proceeded to walk in a straight line towards the broken section of the Castle walls. 

The soldiers were all lined up, ready to fight, should something come over the rubble unexpectedly, but by the looks of the place it was just as dead as the old world. She nodded at Garvey once, who nodded back, before she snuck inside. 

The first thing that hit her was the awful stench of rotten fish and seaweed, making her more nauseous than that time she’d had food poisoning. Despite all of the smells, there were no signs of any enemies. 

“There’s nothing here!” She shouted to the others. “Just a bunch of… eggs.” 

_ Uh oh. _

They’d heard her. As soon as they had, mirelurks burst out of the ground from all over, erupting from their hiding to see what all the fuss was about. When they spotted her, Alice ran for the entrance, to which they followed like obedient little puppies.

_ Sick two hundred pound puppies with claws.  _

Once she was past the first squadron, she yelled out. “Mirelurks coming in hot!” A hail of bullets followed behind her, and she joined in with the occasional arrow, picking them off with one shot to their faces. 

All in all, the assault took about a minute before all of them were gone and off to the afterlife. She wondered what mirelurk kingdom looked like there, beyond the horizon. Alice shook her head, clearing her mind of those thoughts. 

_ Focus… you’re not here to daydream. _

“Yes! We won! The Castle is ours!” Yelled a young Minutemen, rallying up the others. But Alice knew better. 

She shouted. “Don’t be an idiot! We’re not out of the woods just yet.” They stopped, and it grew silent. 

“She’s right.” Said Preston. “Where there are eggs, there’s a mother, and where there’s a mother-” 

Alice finished his thought. “There’s a mega mother. We’re looking for a mirelurk queen.” She turned to some of the soldiers, dealing out the orders. “When I was up there, I saw a shitton of eggs. We have to clear them all out and pick off the remaining mirelurks that didn’t follow me out here. Chances are they’ve set up camp inside of the walls. Barracks and other areas are no doubt filled to the brim.” She stated. “Squadron one, clear out any remaining mirelurk eggs you find, squadron two, you take the mirelurks. And squadron three wait here for the all clear. Should anything happen up there, we need you all to save our asses. Preston, you come with me.” 

“For what?” He asked. 

She smirked, heading for the walls. “We’re going fishing.” 

He followed close behind, laser musket raised high, as Alice climbed the walls, shooting and stomping on any eggs she came across. 

Down in the courtyard, the Minutemen from various squadrons had already gotten to work, picking off whatever they could find. The mercenary blonde turned, seeing that all was well with the backup squadron, with the notable exception of their faces. 

_ Poor things are scared shitless. _

She realized that many of them had probably never even seen a battle such as this, having only recently left to join the newly risen Minutemen in an attempt to escape their boring lives on the farms they called home. 

Alice could understand the need for excitement, but most of all, the need to do something more with your life than farm tatos and mutfruit, until the day you drop dead for one reason or the other. If she had to choose her death, it would definitely be something grander than that. 

More in the lines of getting torn to shreds by a mirelurk Queen. 

The merc surveyed the shore, searching for any signs that a queen had been there, but found little to no evidence that anyone or  _ anything  _ had made the smooth sands their home. She kept on looking, narrowly missing a hatchling jumping straight at her head. 

Without looking, she hit her target with a bullet fired from Angel. 

Preston whistled. “Nice shot. Where did you learn to shoot like that?” 

She shrugged. “Out here, it’s either do or die. And I’m not dead yet, so…” She let the sentence fade out, listening to the sounds of the waves reaching the shore. Had this not been such a dangerous mission, the mercenary would have probably enjoyed the day, sitting in a sunchair, clad in a bathing suit, sipping on some ice cold nuka cherry and let her skin soak up the vitamin D.

But this was not such a day, and this was still a dangerous mission. 

Alice focused all the concentration into her ears, listening to the shots that were fired from the laser muskets, 10mm and the laser rifles. The sound of the ocean, and the way the sun looked as it danced atop its surface. 

_ The surface. _

She eyed closer to shore, catching with her eyes what she was looking for on the first try. 

The merc turned to her employer. “Garvey, get the fishing-rod. We’re gonna catch ourselves a beast.” He chuckled, filled with anxiety, and fixated his gaze where hers was. 

“So how are we gonna draw her out? Should we set up another firing line? Or perhaps-” 

Alice shot at the beast, hearing its startled cry echo out. “That’s how you draw one out.” She turned to the courtyard, yelling at the others. “Squadron three, fall in. The rest of you, keep an eye to the north east side of the wall… We’ve got ourselves one pissed off ugly bitch incoming.” People didn’t understand at first, but when the cry became too loud to mistake for anything else, they quickly fell into place. 

It took no more than ten seconds after squad three was inside of the premise for the queen to reach it as well, spewing ichor everywhere in its wake. Some were brave, charging in, fighting with everything they had, while others stood back, either too scared to move, or just too afraid to fight at all. Two had run off, back to safety when Alice shot the first arrow, hitting the beast in the head. 

It only grew angrier, setting its sights upon her, puking up acidic liquid from a giant, gaping mouth that smelled worse than death Himself. 

Alice ducked, bringing Preston with her as they hid inside the staircase leading down. 

He panted heavily. “How the hell did you think that was going to play out?” 

“I’ve got a plan.” She said. “But you’re not going to like it.” 

“Just tell me.” 

“Alright. I’ve heard about what mirelurk iqor can do. It melts flesh off the human body faster than you can run into the water.” 

He looked at her questioningly. “Water? Why would we need to run into the water?” 

She smirked. “Don’t you get it? Iqor is acidic.” 

“So?"

“The saltwater is a neutralizer or something like that. It evens out, just don’t ask me how. I have no fucking clue, I just know that it does.” 

He nodded. “So what are you saying?” Alice listened as people screamed, probably from the pain. 

“She came from the water, right?” 

“Just tell me!” He shouted back. 

“We draw her back into the water. The iqor has no effect there. Once she’s inside-” 

He finished her sentence. “-she can’t spit it at us. If she’s in the water again, we can shot at her with all we’ve got.” He clapped his hands in happiness. “I knew there was a reason I went to you for this. Alright, only problem now… is who draws her back?” 

She sucked in a breath between her teeth. “You.” 

“Why me?” 

“Because-” The sound of approaching Vertibird diverted her attention to the outside. From it, Brotherhood forces jumped out, clad in full power armor, and started attacking the queen with every available firearm they had. Aboard the ‘birds themselves, miniguns were firing up, hitting the mirelurk queen with such force, it staggered backwards several paces before letting out an infuriated roar, releasing both spew and hatchlings. 

She shrugged. “Or change of plans. The Brotherhood saves our sorry asses.” Alice gave him no time to reply before charging into battle, arrows already placed in the bow. She shot a couple in a row before switching to her dual wielded guns. 

_ Devil, Angel… let’s make some noise. _   
  


* * *

 

Danse had been the first aboard the Vertibird, jumping into his power armor faster than a mole rat on jet before Cade could prevent him from doing so. Maxson had also followed, against both the Knight-Captain’s and the Lancer-Captain’s strong recommendation not to, disregarding the repercussions. 

At least he’d had enough foresight to don his own power armor. 

When they’d arrived on sight, Priors was the first jumper hitting the ground, firing mid-air, getting in a few good shots before landing with a loud bang. Danse and Rhys had followed not far behind, with the Elder touching down lastly. 

When all were boots on the ground, the fighting only grew more intense, Minutemen and Brotherhood working in harmony to bring down the mighty beast, to both Danse’s and Maxson’s great surprise. 

A few arrows flew past the Paladin’s head, hitting the queen in the face, blinding her. Danse knew exactly who had fired those… the only person who used them in this day and age. 

_ Alice. _

He tried catching her in his sights, but she was nowhere to be found, forcing him to abandon the thought for now to focus on the task at hand. He watched as some of his brothers and sisters fell, but also Minutemen that had nothing but a simple outfit on. 

_ They might as well be wearing nothing but long john’s.  _

The fighting ceased, and a loud thump followed, making everyone stop in their tracks. 

As the final arrow whizzed past his head, and the queen lay dead, a cloaked and masked stranger stepped out from the shadows, dressed in black from head to toe. The stranger spoke no words, just stared straight ahead. 

The Paladin found his voice. “Alice.” He said. 

She removed the hood and the mask, revealing the most fair of all faces he’d ever seen. Alabaster skin, orion golden locks curled to perfection, and azure blue eyes mixed together in perfect harmony. 

“Danse.” She spoke. 

To the Paladin’s side, yet another someone saw her for who she really was. 

“Ellinor.” 

The woman caught the Knight’s gaze in her own, losing all sense of reality. 

“Nate.” 

And so they stood, three people just as puzzled, staring at each other. 

  
  


_ What complete and utter madness. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fuck yeah! They finally reunite! Aaargh, I just couldn’t wait to write this chapter, I had to write the ending for it in advance before I even started chapter three XD It’s really nice to finally have the entire gang gathered into one place again. 
> 
> I just wanted to take this time to thank you all for your support, before you get back to reality. It’s been a pleasure to receive the feedback, but also to hear from you guys again. 
> 
> Special thanks to HancockBlocked, Lady_Trevelyan84, for being such amazing people! You’re golden. Also to Cassie, CartwheelCatastrophe and Cornelia_16 for always returning to read shit on my page. Thumbs up to you ;) 
> 
> I’ve decided to add another person in the gift section. JayceCarter (http://archiveofourown.org/works/10627899/chapters/23509557) wrote one of the most amazing fanfics out there XD Beneath the lies! Go read it if you haven’t already ;) 
> 
> Until next time, JA NE!


	7. The king of the ship.

“Nate, would you take out the trash honey?” Nathan rose from his seat on the couch, approaching the kitchen isle where his lovely wife was making them both dinner. He kissed her neck tenderly, brushing her dirt brown locks to the side. “Stop it.” She giggled. “We have to get ready. Mom and dad are going to be here any minute. Now, be a good husband and take out the trash.” 

He mockingly saluted her. “Ma’am, yes, ma’am.” That never failed to make Nora smile, no matter how angry or how down she was… Nora always smiled at their internal joke. 

Nathan grabbed the bag from underneath the counter, hastily pulling on his jogging shoes before opening the hideous orange colored door. 

The outside smelled fresh today, like it only did after a big rainstorm. Or perhaps it was the new people that were currently moving all of their furniture into the house just across the street. 

A little girl was sitting in the middle of it, drawing with chalk on the ground, in the shapes of something he didn’t recognize. He quickly chucked the bag into the bin, approaching the small girl. 

“Hey there. Are you our new neighbors?” She didn’t stop what she was doing, just kept painting the pavement, replying with a small nod. 

“What’s your name?” 

“What’s yours?” She retorted sourly. 

“Nate… Nate Priors.” He waited for awhile, wondering if she was going to reply. 

“My mom says not to talk to strangers.” He smiled. 

“Your mom is a smart woman… is she home?” 

The girl shook her head, making her golden locks bounce. “She’s picking up some pizzas. I think she’ll be back soon.” A man behind the truck watched them closely, to which Nate replied with a wave. 

“Can I help you, sir?” He asked suspiciously. 

“Hello. I was just on my way to introduce myself. I’m Nathan Priors. I live just across the street.” The other man nodded slowly. 

“Good to know.” He turned to the girl who Nate figured was his daughter and snapped his fingers. “Go inside.” 

She reluctantly put the chalk back into the package, walking past her father with her head hanging low. The man, somewhere around his late thirties, turned his attention back to Nathan. 

“Mr. Priors.” Was all he said before turning back, and walking into the house across the street. Nate turned back to his own, dragging his feet all the way back to his door. 

_ What a strange family.  _

That was the first time Nate had met the Kingsley’s.    
  


* * *

 

The world had stopped. Had stopped spinning. Time had stopped. Had stopped its incessant ticking. Reality had stopped. Stopped making sense. 

Alice stood, rooted to the ground as she watched Danse and Nate look upon her, as if though she was a ghost. Or perhaps just a memory, or even a figment of their frickin’ imagination. She didn’t know… didn’t care. 

All that mattered was that they were there… 

“Alice…” It was a mantra stuck on repeat as it fell off the Paladin’s lips, trying to comprehend a situation that was obviously too complex for the human brain to process. 

Nate was equally stumped. “Ellinor… How is this possible?” The merc turned to him first, staring him straight in those cedar colored eyes, wondering the exact same thing. Not once since stepping out of the vault did she even consider that anyone else had made it as well. 

She gasped. “Holy fuck… You’re here.” 

He chuckled, still shocked. “Y-yeah… I’m here… and so are you. How are you still alive?” 

“Funny… I was going to ask the exact same thing.” He smiled and laughed. 

“Fucking hell… Ellie, you’re alive!” Nate gave no warning before charging forward, grabbing her by her waist and spun her around like she was Cinderella at the ball. He kissed her cheek hard, pulling her close. 

“My God, it’s been so long.” He put her back on the ground, still holding onto her midsection, letting small tears fall from his big, brown eyes. Had she been one for crying, she would have. Alas, Alice was no such person, so all she settled for was a gentle pat to his arm. 

Maxson approached. “I thought you said your wife was dead.” 

They both eyed him, her with a cocked brow and Nate with a smiling shake of the head. 

“She is… this isn’t her. This is Ellinor.” The Elder now stood before her, extending his hand. Alice eyed it at first, not certain what his intentions were, but when Nate nodded at her, she finally took it in her own and firmly shook it. 

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet the woman who saved one of my best Paladins. So you’re-” He looked at Nate, trying to remember what he had said. 

He caught the drift. “Oh… Ellinor Kingsley, sir, but everybody just calls me Alice.” 

The Elder nodded. “Well, Miss Kingsley, the Brotherhood is in your debt.” 

Alice caught Danse’s gaze in her own, smirking at the now fully recovered man. He smiled back, letting out a small, breathy laugh. 

“Yes… yes you are. Three thousand, remember?” He walked up to the circle, placing an armor clad hand on her small shoulder. 

“Yes, you’re right. I have it for you aboard the Prydwen.” 

She pouted. “I thought I told you, that’s not how I do my business. So cough ‘em up, you cheapskate.” 

He tugged the right corner of his lips to the side. “I’m sorry. You’re just going to have to come with us if you want your pay.” 

Alice turned to Preston, watching as he gathered up the last of the surviving Minutemen into a circle. He motioned for some of them to strip the mirelurks of meat, others to collect the dead and gather up the injured and for squadron three to get to work on the com system. 

She averted her attention to the Paladin. “I just have to finish this first. If you don’t mind waiting.” 

Danse gave the Elder a questioning look, asking for permission. Maxson nodded, crossing his arms across his broad chest, still in a full set of power armor. 

“Alright. We’ll wait. Just don’t take too long.” He let go of her shoulder, walking off to the side with Maxson and Priors close behind. 

Alice smiled as she came face to face with Garvey. He was in the process of fishing the caps out of his pocket when she stopped him. He gave her a strange look, eyebrows shooting high up on his forehead. 

“Just leave it with one of the Bobrov brothers in Diamond City if you’re heading that way. Tell him that it’s for Alice and for him to take his cut. Keep two thousand of it for yourselves.” 

He furrowed his brow. “Why would you do that?” 

She shrugged. “I’m feeling content with just the experience… besides.” Alice looked over to where the Brotherhood soldiers were gathered, listening as Elder Maxson gave out the exact same orders as Preston had, minus the com system part. She smiled widely. “They showed up and saved our asses. I figured since I didn’t do all of what I was hired to do, it would be unfair to take the full amount.” 

Preston smiled back. “Guess I should give them the two thousand then?” 

She shook her head. “Nope… I’ll smooth it over with them. Besides… the Minutemen needs the caps if it’s going to get this place going again. It’s been a pleasure doing business with you. If you’re ever in need of help, hit me up.” 

Garvey bobbed his head up and down, watching her as she walked away. He caught Nathan’s eye, smiling sadly and nodding curtly. 

“Priors.” He said. 

“Garvey.” Nate replied. 

It was like cold ice water being poured down his back, seeing just how little their allegiance had meant to each other. But this was for the best. 

Besides… 

All the man really wanted to do was to find his son.

 

* * *

 

Alice stepped off the Vertibird, setting foot on the Prydwen’s flight deck and taking in the new scenery. It was just as she’d imagined a battleship would look like. 

She swore she’d died and gone to heaven. 

_ A heavily fortified heaven. _

Behind her, Nate laughed. “All you’ve ever wanted, huh, Ellie?” 

She smiled. “Yeah… It’s amazing.” 

Paladin Danse chuckled, placing a gentle hand on her back. “I’m glad you like it. We call it, the Prydwen.” 

Alice laughed. “From like, what, the poem about King Arthur?” 

The man raised his eyebrows, as did Nate at the new information. 

“What?” she asked. 

Nate started laughing loudly. “You named it the Prydwen because of that, Maxson?” 

The Elder didn’t look the least bit amused. “Do you have a problem with that, Priors?” 

She stood there, completely oblivious as to why Nathan was laughing, scratching her head.

“I don’t get it.” She finally admitted. 

Nate tried to answer, but was too busy laughing his fucking ass off to even form a proper sentence. The Paladin reluctantly explained. 

“The… ehm… The Elder’s first name is Arthur.” The moment she understood, Alice joined in Nate’s joyous cackling, slapping her knees with one hand and clutching her stomach with the other. 

“Wow, talk about… talk about delusions of grandeur.” She said in between laughter. Maxson still watched from where he was standing. Arms across his chest, completely unmoving, waiting for the mockery to cease. It took some time, but after awhile, they had both stopped laughing.  

He cleared his throat. “Not at all… I just thought it befitting. The Prydwen was a masterpiece.” 

Alice laughed again. “Dude… according to the legend it fucking sank with one blow to the outer haul. It was a piece of shit.” Danse lost the battle with trying to contain his own bubbling cackle, releasing the kraken, laughing louder than all of them combined. 

Arthur was blushing. Actually blushing! “I… I… oh forget it. You wouldn’t understand. Priors.” The Elder finally said. “I suggest you stop.” 

He stood upright, pointing accusingly at her. “But, sir. She started it.” 

Alice gasped dramatically, putting a hand to her chest, conjuring up a fake southern accent. “Why, Mr. Prior's, you rascal. To think I trusted you, and here you go throwing ladies under busses. I’ve got to say, you are truly disgraceful. Shame on you, mr… shame on you!” She pretended to scold him. 

“Lady? What are you talking about?” 

All three men eyed her with disbelief, inspecting her head to toe. She shrugged, holding the pose and looked around. 

“What? You don’t believe me? I can prove it. If I pull down my pant-”

“Elder Maxson!” Someone yelled. 

“Thank God for listening to my prayers.” He muttered under his breath. 

“Elder, you were not supposed to be on that Vertibird.” Quinlan came sprinting…  _ sprinting! _ , outside, furious with an equally upset Cade following close behind. Arthur looked up to the skies, frowning. 

“There’s always a prize, Maxson.” Nate said, making the young Elder avert his gaze to the Knight. Alice stifled her laughs, trying to keep it under wraps. 

“Of course there is…” He once again muttered before facing the Proctor and Knight-Captain. “Quinlan. Cade. What can I do for you?” 

The cat loving Proctor was practically fuming. “You knew very well that it was far too dangerous for you to be on that Vertibird, and yet you disregarded our… our…” 

The Knight finished. “Orders?” 

Quinlan frowned. “A Proctor cannot order an Elder. But both Cade and myself strongly urged you to remain aboard the ship. There were too many risks and you knew it! And now I hear from Knight Sergeant Lively that there was a Mirelurk Queen involved.  _ A Mirelurk Queen, Elder! _ ” The man was hissing, metaphorical fumes coming from his ears. “Do you know what could have happened if you’d died?” 

“Eh, he would have died… duh.” Alice answered instead, earning herself quite the death glare from both the gray eyed Proctor and doctor. “What? He would have.” 

“Yes, and the Maxson line would have died with him.” He turned back to the Elder. “Arthur, we had an agreement. No missions until the destruction of the Institute.” 

“I also recall a paragraph to that agreement. _ “In case of an emergency, you are allowed to assist the soldiers” _ . Rebetum, Proctor. Word for word.” 

Quinlan nodded. “Yes, but you’re leaving out the most important part.  _ “If  _ strictly  _ necessary!” _ . They would have been fine without you, and yet you went. So why endanger your life, and your legacy, for something that was easily taken care of by your brothers and sisters?” 

Maxson pursed his lips in anger. “Because Quinlan… I can’t even get a papercut without people… without… I don’t even have a word-” 

“Bubble-wrapping.” Alice finished. 

Arthur turned to her. “Thank you!” He exclaimed. “Yes, without you bubble-wrapping me. I stay aboard the Prydwen, day in and day out doing paper work and twiddling my thumbs. When a moment presented itself to get some time out in the field, I took it in order to avoid insanity.” 

Cade spoke up. “And that is why meetings with me is mandatory for every soldier on board. Otherwise-”

“I understand, Knight-Captain. But conversing something doesn’t always solve it and can sometimes make it worse. I don’t intend to debate this any longer. What is done is done. We went over to the Castle to exterminate the Queen and that’s we did, so there’s nothing more to discuss.” Maxson said, air of authority surrounding him. 

_ I can see why people follow him.  _ Alice thought. 

“Refrain from such actions in the future.” Cade demanded. 

Alice cut in. “Look, I may not be Brotherhood, but I know a hell of a lot about insanity. I don’t think that people should go insane if they can prevent it. It’s really…” She paused. “Huh… actually scratch that. Insanity is fun.”

“We can tell…” Quinlan muttered sarcastically. 

Maxson turned to her, glaring. “Thank you for the support, Miss Kingsley.” 

“I didn’t mean it like that… well I sort of did but… But that’s not the point, the point is that you are the Elder, so fuck what they think and go out and do crazy shit you did when you were young!” Arthur was about to agree when the last part finally sunk in. 

“Wait… what? What do you mean when I was young?” 

She furrowed her brows. “You know when you were younger and did crazy shit. When you were like twenty five or something.” 

Maxson frowned at her. “I’m twenty one.” 

She sucked in some air between her teeth. “Yikes… the years have not been kind to you.” He eyed her angrily. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like… I’m just going to shut up now, okay?” 

“That would be for the best.” He diverted his attention to the two. “Disregarding Miss Kingsley’s personal opinions of me, she makes a fair point. I am the Elder, which clearly means that I am in charge of all of you, but also of myself. If I feel that it’s paramount to my mental well being, I will occasionally join my brothers and sisters in in the field. End of discussion.” Arthur shifted his focus to Alice. “Miss Kingsley.” 

“Yes, my King.” She replied, batting her eyelashes wildly, all the while grinning and clasping her hands in front of her. 

“Charming…” He muttered, voice dripping with sarcasm. “Paladin Danse will pay you what is owed. After that, come find me. I’ll be in the Command Deck, standing around pointlessly.” He noted the last part to Cade and Quinlan, both of whom were still angered. 

The English Proctor stared at her with such intensity, he might as well burrow holes into her skull where her eyes were. 

“Miss Kingsley. I do not take lightly to such insubordination. You will be on research patrol for the next month-” 

She cut him off. “Alright hold it there, Oliver Twist.” Quinlan was taken aback. “I ain’t doing shit for you unless you pay me. I’m not one of you, so you have no right to order me to do anything. And may I just point out that I am just here to collect on a debt, nothing more.” 

The Proctor straightened out his coat. “Very well. Then I suggest you do not interfere in businesses that aren’t your own. Good day, Miss Kingsley” He said and turned his heel. Cade lingered, but not for long, only having stayed to glare some more daggers at Alice, making his disdain clear without words. 

They quickly retreated, heading for the upper levels, angrier than a couple of rabid yao gai. 

 

* * *

 

“This is the mess hall. It’s where every soldier aboard the ship eats. It can get pretty crowded at times, but mostly it’s not too bad. And the food’s decent, so that’s a plus.” Nate informed as he guided Alice around the ship, Danse accompanying them both. 

She had insisted that he keep one third of the caps, saying that the Brotherhood showing up when they did may very well have saved a lot of lives, claiming some bullshit of how getting to fly in a Vertibird had been one of her biggest dreams ever since being a child. 

In reality, Alice just had no modest way of saying thank you, so she settled for a simple little white lie, which the Paladin took no notice of. He just followed them around like a sick puppy, keeping her in his sights, afraid that if he looked away for just a second… she might be gone. 

“This right here, is the medbay. You’ve already met Cade, so there’s no point in introducing the two of you.” She snorted. “And right across is Quinlan’s office and well… yeah.” 

The mercenary smirked wickedly. “What is this, asshole avenue?” 

“I heard that!” The Proctor called from his office. 

“I know!” She dramatically yelled out. “You were meant to.” There was shuffling and scoffing from inside his office, which she ignored and walked past, where the tour had started. Nate brushed a strand of hair out of her face. 

“My God, you’ve grown up. I can’t believe you’re, what… seventeen?” 

She laughed. “Nineteen, Nate. I’m nineteen.”  

He smiled sadly, eyes glossing over with a deep thinking fog. Priors returned to the real word, quickly shaking the ghosts away from his psyche, focusing on her. 

“Yeah… I guess it’s been that long.”

“It really has.” She paused, dripping with uncertainty, but charged ahead anyway. “Nate… what happened to the others? Are we the only ones that are alive?” 

“No…” He said solemnly “Shaun is out there somewhere… somebody stole him from me, but I’m getting him back… We think it’s the-” 

“Priors!” A Scribe came running down the hall, looking angrier than a hive full of bees. “You son of a bitch. What the hell did you promise that thing? It’s getting fucking cocky, and I ain’t having it anymore! You take care of it, if you like it so much.” Nate sighed deeply, filled with a nagging feeling of homicidal rage.

“I’m sorry, Ellie. I have to take care of this… but say goodbye before you leave. Danse can show you the way.” He kissed her on the cheek gently, walking away. It didn’t go unnoticed by the Paladin, that stared jealously after the man. 

“Alright, so you coming with me to see Maxson?” He shook his head. 

“No, I’ve got other matters to attend to. But good luck.” She gave him a warm hug, surprising him, but eventually when he’d gotten over the shock, he returned it. 

“Thanks, big guy. I’ll come find the two of you before I go. See you.” 

She climbed down the ladder, not bothering to listen to his reply. She spun around, fixating her eyes upon the Elder’s back, now out of his power armor, in a mighty battlecoat hanging off his broad shoulders. Maxson had seen her reflection in the window, facing her when she stood just behind him. 

“I know it may not look like it… but I care about them… the people of the Commonwealth.” 

She smiled. “I know. Why else would you swoop in like some prince in Brotherhood issued power armor on your noble metal steed, carrying the other Knights from the round table?” 

“I see that you continue making fun of me, at my expense no less.” He replied dryly. 

“I’m sorry, Maxson. It’s just a little bit ironical. But you’ve got to admit, it’s just a tad bit strange that your story is basically the same as King Arthur’s. Elder at sixteen with an army following behind, rolling into town in a huge ass ship with the same name. Tell me there’s not a single joke in that. I dare you.” 

He smiled quickly, one that never reached his eyes. “Miss Kingsley, I realize that your mental stability-” 

“Doesn’t exist, but thank you for trying to spare my feelings.” 

Arthur sighed. “Nevertheless, I understand that you’re a little bit unstable… but the Brotherhood can help you with that. We have an excellent-”

“I’mna stop you right there,  _ Maxson.  _ Look, I’m happy with who I am, and I don’t want to change a damn thing. And even if I did, your doctor; Sir. Asshat of the round table, is the last person I’d go to for that kind of help. He has more than a few screws loose, let me tell you that right-” 

He cut her off. “I get it. You obviously don’t wish to be cured… but I have another proposition for you. If you’re willing to listen?” She shrugged. “Well, it’s quite simple. I want you to join the Brotherhood of Steel… become one of us, and you won’t have to live hand to mouth anymore.” 

Alice snorted. “Yeah, that’s not going to happen.” He raised his brows. “When I said I was happy with who I was, I even meant the mercenary parts of me. I make on average a couple of thousand caps per job, sometimes more, for something that’s basically a piece of cake. I get as many drinks as I can drink, more caps than I can spend and more ass than you’ve ever seen. So, alcohol, caps and sex are coming in on a regular basis. Why would I want to remove all of that from the equation? No thank you.” 

“You wouldn’t have to give it up at all… The Brotherhood does pay its soldiers handsomely for their services. Perhaps not a thousand caps or more per job, but still a considerable amount. There’s alcohol, and as you so astutely put it, more ass than I’ve ever seen. So if you’re looking for caps, liquor and sex, all of those things exist right here.” He paused, letting it sink in. “The only notable exception is that this is not a one man race. We’re a family, with every setback and perk that comes with it. I’m not blind to the fact that you’ve been alone for all of this time, and a partnership would be difficult at first, but given time… I think you might fit in here.” 

Alice tugged on her hair. “The reason why I won’t join the Brotherhood has nothing to do with what you just listed… okay it has a little bit to do with what you listed, but the bigger picture here is that… I…” She sighed deeply. “I can’t trust people, no matter how pure their intentions are. I’ve known enough people throughout my life to know that each and everyone of them are using you for one thing or another. I don’t want to get used and left broken again… I can’t handle it any more than I already have. The answer is no.” 

He frowned. “I see… Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find us.” Arthur reached into his pocket, pulling out an item, placing it in her small hands. “This is a signal grenade. One of these can call a Vertibird to your location, no matter where in the Commonwealth you might be. Once you’re aboard, tell the Lancer to take you back to the Prydwen and that Elder Maxson gave this to you.” 

“Thanks. I don’t know if I need it, but it’s good to know that it’s there in case I do.” He nodded. “I have to go say goodbye to Nate and Danse, but it was really nice to officially meet you, Arthur. You seem like a good person, despite what I’ve heard.” 

“I don’t doubt that you’ve heard a lot of rumors surrounding the Brotherhood, but let me just assure you-”

“There’s no need… I make up my own opinions. And yeah, sure, hanging around Goodneighbor, you hear about some of your fucked up morals, but there has been worse. So you don’t need to convince me that what you’re doing is for a good reason. I already know you are…” She reached for the handle of the ladder, grabbing onto it tightly. “Farewell, King Arthur.” 

“Farewell, Alice.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to try adding a little humorous twist to Alice’s character, seeing as she is bat-shit crazy and extremely impulsive XD Also, I’d like to apologize for the delay in the update. I had to rewrite some parts I wasn’t entirely satisfied with; coupled with the fact that I’ve developed “crystal imbalances” in my ear. Needless to say, I stumble around a lot and have the stability of a newborn deer. If you don’t know what that is, it’s basically an inner ear thing that fucks up your balance, so I’ve been home from work for awhile now. Mostly it’s going okay, but I have some problems remembering, and keeping myself upright… so… yeah XD - Writing hasn’t been going well as of late. 
> 
> I’d like to thank all of you for sticking with the up’s and downs of the story ;) You’re golden, people! Until next time, JA NE! 
> 
> P.S: I know that the King Arthur legend doesn’t specify how the Prydwen ended up, but I took some artistic liberties and made up the part about it sinking. In some parts of the poem, it’s his shield and not the ship… so it’s a little hard finding viable information. XD (LOL) 
> 
> P.P.S: Follow me on Tumblr! Username: Cuppycakechan


	8. Cogs in my brain, fear in my heart.

Alice looked upon the setting sun, taking in the warmth felt against her moist skin, giving her some comfort from the oncoming cold. She knew that she should move out soon, but just couldn’t find it in herself to do so. 

Eventually though… everything has to move, whether you want it to or not. 

She rose from the walls of the Castle, finished with overlooking the ocean and occasionally catching a glimpse of the giant blimp hovering above it, and dusted her pants free of dirt before climbing down. 

It had been two weeks since the Minutemen had retaken the Castle, and two weeks since she’d both seen and heard from the Brotherhood, namely Nate and Danse. During that time, she’d taken on smaller contracts, content with the amount of caps she currently had at her disposal for the time being.

Instead she’d been running ops for both the Charlie, Vadim and Yefim as well as a bigger contract for Kessler, involving some dude that called himself “Judge Zeller”, a creepy fellah in charge of a raider gang. 

And of course, the Minutemen. 

All of the killing just made her think back to what Maxson had said. 

_ “We’re a family, with every setback and perk it comes with it.”  _

Maybe all Alice really needed right now was a family. Blood meant nothing… it’s not what defines a family… 

No… 

What defines a family is who you feel at home with. Because that’s where you found them.

_ At home. _

Preston waved at her as she was coming down the steps. “Hey! Leaving so soon? You’re not staying for supper?” 

She shook her head. “If I leave now I can make it to Goodneighbor before nightfall. I’d rather not spend another night here, if you don’t mind. This place freaks me out.” Alice said apologetically. 

“And a homicidal bunch of drifters and chem addicts doesn’t?” He retorted playfully. 

“Nope… I feel right at-” She drifted off, wondering what she was going to say. She shook the gnawing feeling out of her head, remembering that she needed to be off soon. “Look, I really ought to get going, but hey… thanks again, Garvey. It’s been nice staying here. Waking up to the ocean every morning is really something else.” 

He smiled, overlooking it. “Yeah… it really is.” Preston fixated his gaze on her. “Listen, if you’re ever in the area and need a place to lay down your head for the night, you’re welcome here. It’s the least we can do after everything you’ve done for us.” 

She grinned. “Don’t mention it.” He laughed. “No, seriously, don’t. I’ve got a rumor to uphold. If people knew I’ve gone just a little bit soft, I'mma start losing clients. So keep it on the downlow, ‘kay?” 

“I can do that.” He replied. “Goodbye, Alice.” 

“Goodbye, Hatter.” 

 

* * *

 

The merc had made it to Goodneighbor just as the first sliver of moon had rose over the horizon, making her feel a sense of pride over her excellent guesswork and estimation, deciding to reward herself with a nice, cold nuka cherry and rum. Before she even got to the entrance, somebody pulled her into the darkness. 

She grunted, breaking free. “What the fuck is it with people and pulling me into ally’s. Do I look like I’m the right person to fuck with right now? Jesus H Crackers, you’re really stupid, you know that?” Alice drew her firearm, aiming it at the stranger. 

But lowered it when she realized who she was dealing with. 

“Miss Kingsley. I see that you haven’t forgotten me.” 

She snarled back at the hooded woman. “What do you want, bitch?” 

“My, my, such crassness from such a young lady. It’s extremely unbecoming.” 

Alice shrugged. “So? You’re not my mother.” 

The stranger chuckled. “No… that I am not.” 

“So why are you here?” The merc asked impatiently. 

“I’ve got another contract for you. The pay is twenty thousand… half upfront, just for listening.” Alice shook her head. 

“Fuck no… I’m not doing more jobs for the Institute. You guys creep me the hell out. Sorry, muffin top, no can do. But good luck finding a replacement.” The hooded one grabbed her arm hard enough to leave marks. 

“When I told you not to cross the Institute again, this is exactly what I meant. Don’t make yourself one of our enemies, or you’re not going to like where you end up, little one.” At this point, Alice was actually genuinely fearing for her life. She might be insane, but this person…

Was a fucking psychopath. 

The merc retracted her arm. “As a mercenary, I have the right to turn down your contract, whether you like it or not. I said no.” 

“And I’m saying yes… so listen closely.” The woman placed a huge sack of caps in her hands, weighing her down considerably. She used the system on her pip-boy and scanned all of it in, letting them shrink into the small storage compartment. “The task is simple. We want to hire you for an assassination.” 

Alice sighed, tipping her head to the side. “Alright… who?” 

“Elder Arthur Maxson.” 

Her eyes pried all the way open, lips parting in surprise. “Are you fucking mad? I’d never get away with that.” 

“Which is exactly why I’ve got a plan to make sure that you do. It’s come to my attention that he’s offered you a place in the Brotherhood, correct?” She nodded reluctantly. “I want you to take him up on that offer… then I’m gonna need you to get real close to him, if you catch my meaning.” 

“You want me to fuck him.” 

“Not just that,” The hooded woman said. “I want you to make him fall in love with you. Once you’ve successfully done that, you’re going to give them bits and pieces of information on us. Just small insignificant things. Locations of some synths, some of our outposts and lastly… you’re going to lead them to the Railroad. I assume you’ve heard about them.” 

Alice had heard about them… a group dedicating themselves into freeing enslaved synths from the Institute. 

She nodded. “Good… After they’ve taken care of those pests for us, you’re going to give them the final piece of the puzzle… the entrance to the Institute itself.” 

Alice raised a brow. “And why would that be a smart idea?” 

The hooded figure sniggered. “Because what they won’t know is that we’ll be there, waiting to attack. They won’t even know what hit them… do this, and you’re free forever, no more strings attached. So… when can you get it done?” 

She gritted her teeth. “That’s a job worth more than twenty thousand. Two major organizations of the Commonwealth, that’s at least twenty thousand each. Not to mention the risks I’m taking… all in all, you’re looking at something in the fifty thousand price range. Look, lady… the Brotherhood will hunt me for the rest of my life. Going under the radar is going to be next to impossible with those fucks lurking around everywhere. Fifty grand is enough to get me out of Boston and somewhere where nobody knows me.” 

It was the other woman’s turn to grit her teeth. “Forty or nothing. You did cross us once. The Director is being lenient with you, so I’d appreciate the gesture of good faith and take it before it’s down to twenty again.” 

Alice shrugged. “Forty then… but you will provide me with everything I need up there. Everything from arrows to a new bow if it’s necessary, not to speak of parts for-” 

The hooded woman waved a hand in front of her face. “All of that will be taken care of. We already have somebody up there waiting for you. Speak to him when you’re in need of something, and we’ll take care of it for you. Just remember… if you slip up or tell anyone about the plan… we’ll know.” 

The merc’s face showed no expression. “Got it… now, hand over the other ten and-”

“That was for the Brotherhood part… you’ll get the other ten when the Railroad is taken care of. Two independent contracts, two independent upfront payments.” 

She sighed. “Alright… now, who’s the contact?” 

 

* * *

 

Danse sipped on some late night tea, wondering where the Knight had run off to now. He’d been waiting on the man, the deck of cards laying sprawled out on the table for the past half an hour, just begging to be played with. He huffed in annoyance and glared down at the pocket watch for the umpteenth time, sighing deeply. 

Nate came running, out of breath. “Sorry I’m late… Nick held me up.” 

The Paladin sneered at his comment. “You’re spending more time with that thing than with actual human beings.” He cut the cards, dealing out the right amount. 

“Is that jealousy I hear, Danse? Didn’t peg you for the type to get envious of a synth.” 

He humphed. “Not at all, Priors. I just figured that spending your entire day in that abomination’s company might just take your mind off the mission and why we’re here in the first place.” Nate arranged his cards differently, deep in thought. 

“Our reasons for being here are completely different, Paladin. I’m not here to destroy the Institute and win glory for the Brotherhood… I’m here to find my son so that I can finally get him back.” He replied sourly. 

“And the Brotherhood means nothing more than that to you?” Danse asked angrily. 

“Of course it does, Danse… It’s given me more purpose than I’ve had since setting foot outside of that Godforsaken vault.” He said honestly. “Had it not been for Maxson, I would have still been wandering the Commonwealth, just with a different army at my back.” 

The brown-haired Paladin put down the first card on the table. “Speaking of which, why did you abandon the Minutemen?” 

Nathan sighed. “I’ve already explained it to you, because-” 

The other man cocked an eyebrow. “I want the full story, Priors, not just the bogus bullshit you keep telling everyone else. I’d like to consider us close friends, and friends tell each other these things.” 

“I give up, Danse.” Nate replied. 

“Your hand is  _ that  _ bad?” 

“No, no, not with the game. It’s just that… I’ve just always been a very closed off person. I never really had friends. I had colleagues, sure, but never somebody that I considered as somebody close to me. The only friends I really had was Ellie, Nick and my wife, and well… she’s gone and so is he… sort of. And Ellinor is off doing God knows what.” Richard played his round, sipping on the cooling tea. 

“So you don’t consider us friends?” He asked. 

“Those are your words, not mine. All I’m trying to tell you is that I’m not good at these things. Opening up, I mean. About my thoughts and feelings. My past is a blank page for the Brotherhood, and that’s by design. The less people you love, and who love you, the better.” 

Danse pursed his lips. “You’ve got it all backwards… the  _ more  _ people you love, and who love you, the better. I understand that you’ve been hurt and that you’re mistrusting of people, and you have every right to, but sometimes sharing with someone is the only thing keeping you sane. I’m here if you need me to be that somebody. Just saying.” 

Nate grinned. “Almost sounds like you wanna be more than friends there, Paladin.” 

Richard snorted. “Hardly, Priors. I’m just stating that I’m there if you need someone in your corner. You lead, I follow.” 

Nathan smirked again, eyeing the man. “Suuuuure… I believe you, Danse.” 

“Thank you.” 

“Oh and with that I mean, you’re full of shit. Don’t think I haven’t noticed the way you’re looking at me when we’re showering.” 

Not so much as a blush was present on the Paladin’s face. “The only thing I’ve been looking at is that tattoo on your back. It’s an interesting design, is all.” 

“Hmm, fine. You’re no fun to tease when you won’t take the bait.” Priors put down the last card, winning the round. “And to answer the question you’re not going to ask, but desperately want to, it symbolizes my freedom. Not just the wings, but the broken chains around them. It just tells a part of my story…” 

“Care to share?” Danse asked while dealing the next round. He looked at his cards, then at the other man. 

“Before Nora, I was in a relationship with someone… and they just made me feel as if though I was constantly in chains. It just made me feel broken and run down. So I got the tattoo, dumped their sorry ass and went on with my life. Then I met her…” He paused to rearrange again. “See, I’m sharing.” 

“Feels good, doesn’t it?” Richard said, starting the round. 

“Not really… it doesn’t make me feel anything.” 

“If it doesn’t make you feel anything, why not just share the reason why you’re no longer with the Minutemen.” Nate cocked his brows, stopping his motions and sat completely still. “Alright, I get it… I won’t pry.” 

“Fine… you really wanna know?” Danse nodded. “It’s because Garvey and I used to… we used to have a thing.” 

Richard was taken aback by the sudden confession. “A thing? As in romantic?” 

“Not really… just sex. Blowing off steam whenever we needed it. After a while, it got old, and so I broke it off. He got mad, and we had a fight. Said that abandoning him basically spoke volumes about my character, yelling at me that I would just abandon the Commonwealth the first chance I got.” It was Danse’s turn to be unmoving, staring off into space, many scenarios playing inside his head, finally connecting with a click. “You home? It looks a little empty in the windows.” 

He peered up. “All those times you were messing with me… were you secretly hoping that I was doing those things so that… by the steel… Priors, do you have feelings for me?” 

Priors furrowed his brows. “Yes… they’re called annoyance.”

Danse chuckled. “I see… well then, I guess you’re not going to get anything out of me other than a close friendship.” 

“Who says I want more than that, Danse?” 

“The look on your face says it all, Priors.” 

Somehow, deep inside his cold, dead heart, Nate was slowly starting to open up, slowly, but surely, falling in love.    
  
  


* * *

 

Alice walked through the Third Rail, bumping into drifters and mercs alike, not bothering with apologies or brawls. All she wanted to do was get fucked up… and fast. 

The talk with the woman from the Institute had left her so shaken up, she was literally shaking like a leaf in the wind. She finally reached the bar, sitting down on the only free stool there, catching Charlie’s attention. 

“What can I get’cha, love?” The robot asked in its programmed British accent. “As if I need to ask.” 

She shook her head. “Actually, I need something stronger. Something that’ll get me fucked up… and fast.” 

Had Charlie possessed eyebrows, Alice was sure that they’d be hitting the ceiling at this point, but she was too freaked out to even think about how funny he would look with them. Her breathing became hitched and came out short and shallow. 

“You alright there, l-”

“Just pour me the fucking drink and we can talk when I’m fucked up. Sound like a deal?” 

He sneered. “Suppose.” A bottle of something she didn’t recognize was placed in front of her, which she completely downed within a minute. “Woah, slow down there. You’ll end up in the alley if you keep drinkin’ the way you are.” 

“You’re a bartender, so bartend. Don’t bother trying to give me advice right now. Just… don’t.” She spat. Alice wanted to cry, to throw shit, but most of all, she wanted to puke. The drink she’d just drank way too fast tasted like murky piss water mixed with just a hint of mutfruit and tarberries. She grimaced in disgust. 

“Here ya go… ‘nother one… on Hancock.” In the corner, the mayor sat, surrounded by his usual gang of sluts and hoebags, waving at her with a concerned look in his face. He quietly mouthed to her. 

_ You alright, sister? _

She shook her head, replying with tears filling her eyes. 

_ No. _

He kissed one of the women on their cheek before excusing himself. She pouted in disappointment, but let him go nonetheless. This was Hancock, and as many people realized sooner or later, Hancock never stayed for very long with one woman. 

John stood behind her, rubbing her back gently. “What’s wrong, hun?” 

She let the tears spill over, holding her face in her tired hands, letting the hood conceal it from prying eyes. Alice couldn’t even speak through the fear, so Hancock didn’t force her to. A drifter moved out of the way so that the ghoul mayor could sit down next to his distraught friend. 

“You don’t need to talk, Alice… but I’m here if you want to. I ain’t gonna leave you, sweetheart.” 

And for just a little while… she felt content knowing that someone cared. 

_ But that never lasts long…  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So… I decided to update twice today XD Yay! Sadly, this chapter is just a tad bit shorter than most, but I felt it was fitting to end it there. Gaaah, I just love the bromance between Alice and Hancock, kya! They’re just so adorkable ;) Anyways, thank you all for dropping kudos and comments left and right… it’s the bee's knees ;) 
> 
> I want to thank JayceCarter for your support! You’re such a great writer, and an amazing person! Cheers to you, my friend! 
> 
> Anyways, Until next time, JA NE!


	9. Welcome to the madness.

Alice awoke with a pounding headache and a dry mouth, wondering what the hell had happened last night. She tried locating a clock, but failed, seeing as the room was too dark to spot anything through the blackness, so she settled for placing her head into the pillowy warmth, closing her eyes once again. 

The next time she woke up, the merc was convinced that she had died and gone to hell, as the room was surely a hundred degrees warm. She wanted to puke her guts out, glancing around the room for something to empty her stomach into. 

_ Nothing. _

It was too late for that anyway. 

She ended up puking all over the dirty floor, wondering where she might be. As she was hurling, she heard someone curse and flip the light switch. Alice flinched at the sudden and offending lights, blasting straight into her sensitive eyes, making her head explode.

“Jesus H fuck, sis…” Hancock came up from behind her, pulling the blonde locks away from her sweaty face, stroking it gently as she continued vomiting. “It’s alright, Alice. I’m right here.” The ghoul mayor kissed her head sweetly. 

He’d never seen her in this condition… broken and shattered to her very bones, trying to piece back together the shards that had dislodged from their place underneath her alabaster skin. And all he could offer up in the way of comfort, was holding back her orion locks, and speak in a soothing voice. 

Hancock felt useless. 

“It’s okay, Alice… you’re doing alright.” 

She spat out some saliva, and chuckled. “I’m doing alright, huh, Hancock? I’m so far from being alright, it’s not even funny.” Alice sobbed, shaking her entire body. “Fuck.” 

He knew she was right, of course. At some point, John wondered what the hell had spooked her so much that she had downed an entire bottle of Dirty hoe’s bath water in one go. People rarely drank it at all unless they had some pretty fucked up demons to kill. 

Hancock nodded. “I know, Alice. I know you ain’t okay.” 

He held her as she cried into his arms… he didn’t let go until she’d passed out. 

 

* * *

 

The merc woke up in a daze, not sure what the hell was going on, listening in on the raised voices, shouting loudly. 

_ “Hancock for fuck’s sake! Just tell me where she is. I just want to make sure she’s okay.”  _ It was Nathan, she was sure of it. The way his tenor voice reminded her of spring and security, made her shudder. 

_ “Maybe she’s here… maybe she’s not… I ain’t gonna just give her up like that. Sorry, princess.”  _ Alice threw the thin blanket off her body, noticing her attire. A simple and plain white t-shirt with a pair checkered pyjama pants, that she was one hundred percent sure she wasn’t wearing when she’d gone to bed. 

The puke had been removed from the floor, just a small stain where it had once been, the room smelling pleasantly of hubflower and abraxo cleaner. Her hair had been cleaned, still slightly damp and tied into a neat bun at the back of her head which was falling apart. 

_ “I ain’t fucking around, Hancock! Just tell me if she’s alright or not!”  _ Alice removed her t-shirt, located her clothes and threw on her top hastily, and followed up by hopping out of the pants and into her tights faster than she thought was possible. 

She removed the band from her hair, letting it flow freely, before draping the cloak on her shoulders. The bandana once again covered the lower part of her face, shielding her from recognition, although she didn’t understand why she needed it right now. 

Nate had seen her before, seen her grow up from a scared child into a confident young woman who had a mean right hook and cursed like a sailor. 

But if she was going to leave Goodneighbor, it provided her with the anonymity she craved. Her bow was the last thing she grabbed before running down the steps in a hurry, hoping to catch up with the man before it was too late. 

“Yeah… she’s here. She’s fine.” Their voices became clearer as she descended down the stairs with grace and elegance, witnessing the stand off between the ghoul mayor and the armor clad Knight with warm brown eyes. It seemed that Danse had tagged along as well, though Alice didn’t get why he would.

_ The Brotherhood ain't exactly welcome in Goodneighbor.  _

“I’ll be the judge of that, John. Please just let me see her.” Nate retorted, earning him an angry glare from the mayor. 

“You said you wanted to know if she was okay. Never said anythin’ about seein’ her.” The Paladin was a second from beating the man senseless, but backed off when he saw her coming into view. John turned around as well. 

“It’s alright, Hancock.” She said calmly, turning to Nathan. “What did you want?” 

He smiled at her. “I heard what happened down at the Third Rail. Charlie said that you got absolutely shit faced… I just wanted to make sure that you were alright.” 

Alice nodded, eyeing Danse. “Yeah… I’m doing better. Just a job that went a little sideways, is all.” She turned her attention to Nate once again. “Here for any other reason?” 

“Yeah. I wanted you to know that I think that you’re a fool for turning down Elder Maxson’s offer. The Brotherhood can help you to get better-”

She cut him off with a snort. “Nate, unless you haven’t noticed… I don’t want to be “cured” of my insanity. I’ve made peace with it. Besides, I don’t want to join the league of extraordinary dicks.” 

Danse pursed his lips. “Why would you call us that? The Brotherhood is a proud organisation, one which you would benefit greatly from joining.” 

_ Do this, and you’re free forever, no more strings attached. _

She didn’t want to remember, had hoped that the drinks would have dulled that part of her brain, but alas… it had not. Which meant that, whether Alice wanted it to or not, the contract was still in play. 

_ How could I possibly do something like this to my friends?  _

_ “Forty or nothing. You did cross us once. The Director is being lenient with you, so I’d appreciate the gesture of good faith and take it before it’s down to twenty again.” _

Forty thousand caps… that’s how, she reminded herself. Whatever she needed, the Institute would provide. After this whole ordeal was over with, and every last Brotherhood member was dead, maybe… maybe she had a place within the underground organisation. 

_ Yeah… maybe she’d finally be safe.  _

She shook her head, returning to reality. “No reason. I just don’t agree with your ideals. Hancock is my friend, and so are some of the synths out there. So if I do join, I’d had to turn my back on them… for the likes of you.” She spoke calmly. 

“You don’t have to turn your back on them. They’re still your friends.” Nate replied. 

“Yeah, because the Brotherhood allows such a thing.” She retorted wryly. 

Danse shrugged. “It’s entirely possible to be their friends. As the mayor of Goodneighbor, Hancock is a very valuable friend to have… and a relationship with Valentine provides you with strong connections with Diamond City. You wouldn’t have to give them up, you just have to-” 

Alice waved her hand in front of her face. “I get it, Danse. I still don’t agree with you on a lot of things. Hoarding technology that could help the people of the Commonwealth, threatening civilians for food, acting as if though you’re the angels sent from heaven and with Maxson acting as if though he’s the new Messiah, sent down to earth as some sort of savior of the people. That man has a God complex and you know it.” 

“Speak about me however you like, Miss Kingsley, but don’t you dare insult the Elder. He’s a good man, better than you’ll ever understand.” Danse raised his finger, pointing at her. She grabbed it, lowering it gently with a fiery gaze that burned through to his very core. To say that the woman frightened him, even at such a low height, was the understatement of the century. 

“Or what, Danse? You gonna hurt me if I speak badly about your precious “miracle Maxson”?” She spat back, trying to contain her anger from being threatened a second time in so many hours. The merc hated it when people tried to act all high and mighty, as if though they were above her, and for what, she had no idea, but one thing they all found out in the end…

Alice was not a person you fucked with. 

He swallowed. “Of course not. I’m just stating that insulting the Elder means you’re insulting me as well. You wouldn’t want to insult your friends now, would you, Alice?” 

She shook her head, removing her hand from his metal clad fingers. 

“No… no, I don’t want to insult you. I just hate being threatened.” Danse nodded in response. “I just get upset when people do that. Besides…” He started into her eyes, trying to remember what they had looked like, the night they’d met. “I was never good at taking orders… and I’m still not, so if I were to join you… I’d probably end up breaking every rule you have.” 

“I’m sure you wouldn’t.” The Paladin replied. 

Alice chuckled. “I don’t play well with others, I hate rising early in the morning, I can’t stand people telling me what to do and while I don’t care much for glory and worship, I want to get paid for what I do. Caps is all I care about, nowadays. So unless you want to pay me a hefty sum for my services… then I’m not interested.” She was playing hard to get… the only strategy she knew. 

Because when people thought you were unavailable, they pushed harder to get you. 

Nathan put a heavy hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently. “I’m sure that we can work something out. Besides, camaraderie is something you work on… it doesn’t just come easy for everyone… and not everyone rises early in the Brotherhood anyway, so you don’t have to worry about that.” 

The merc smiled warmly, something that they weren’t able to see, thinking that maybe this wasn’t so bad. 

But the mission was still something that was going to tear them apart in the end. At the end of the crossroads, she was going to have to choose who to follow… but that’s the thing with Alice. There was always one thing that was constant, come hell and high water, she stood by the only person that never let her down… 

By herself, even if it meant standing alone. 

She sighed deeply. “Fine… I’ll go with you, but just know that I still won’t adhere to your orders… not all the time at least. And don’t try to change me, Mr. Paladin Danse of the Brotherhood of Steel. I’m proud of who I am, because every scar on my body has its own tale, every mental wound tells the story of how I became the person I am today, and I wouldn’t change that for the world.” She paused. “And if I were to join… I’ll still have to carry out my contracts. Deal?”  

Danse nodded, happy to have convinced her. “Alright… I can work with that.” He smiled warmly at the young woman, placing his hand on her other shoulder. “Welcome to the Brotherhood, Kingsley.” 

_ What the hell have I gotten myself into. _

 

* * *

 

Later, Alice found out that she had been out for not one, not two, but three days, making her grunt in annoyance. She was sure that at least one of her contacts had reached its deadline, at least the out of the ones she had accepted. 

She sighed, coming to grips with the fact that she was going to lose a lot of clients this way, many of them scared of the Brotherhood and their ethics, but also some that were looking to contact her for an assassination… perhaps even of a soldier. 

Danse interrupted her train of thoughts. “You don’t have to wear it, you know. I spoke to the Elder and he understands the need for anonymity.” 

Alice shook her head. “It’s not the anonymity… it’s the color. It’s fucking hideous. Not in a million years would I squeeze my tight buns into something that reminds me of three week old puke.” 

Nate placed another one in front of her, a red uniform with a vest to go with it, plus a cap to cover her orion locks that had gotten out of hand as of late. 

“What’s this?” She asked. “This isn’t a Brotherhood standard flight suit?” 

“No.” Danse answered her. “It’s not. However both Priors and I agreed that you might make a good field Scribe, all things considering. Plus, Cade complimented your good work on my suturing… he thought you might be better as a doctor than a Knight.” 

Alice eyed the material, for once agreeing with the man. 

The first day had been disastrous. Not only had she managed to completely ruin a wall as she was trying out her power armor, but she had also screwed up the left actuator, which Ingram had given her a scolding over. 

The former merc dreaded wearing such a clanky suit that hindered her range of movement and messed up her sweet moves that she had learned over the years from training both MMA and parkour. With that tin can surrounding her, swallowing her whole, she couldn’t do any of that. 

Then there was the whole noise thing. The merc understood the whole point with extra protection… understood, but never really utilized it, so power armor was just in the way. Alice worked from the shadows, and always from the shadows. It was easier to be cloaked in a shroud of darkness than an armored enclosure that was always the first thing to be noticed when stepping into battle.

She was better at fighting from the void than charging in, guns blazing and ready to sprint through thick walls. 

Alice nodded. “Sure… I’ll become a Scribe, but I still get to come with you on certain missions.” 

“Of course!” Danse exclaimed in excitement. “You’ll be assigned to recon squad Gladius under either mine or Knight Priors charge, whichever you prefer.” 

She looked between the two, trying to decide which one of them was better suited for her personality. Then shook her head. 

“Neither one of you. If I’m going to be the person I am, I’m going to need to be outside of all of this. I’d rather stay aboard the Prydwen for a while to receive training from Knight-Captain Cade. After that, I might join you at the Cambridge police station. Is that alright?” She asked, patiently awaiting an answer. 

Danse nodded, deep in thinking, raising his hand to play with the stubble on his chin. He kept on nodding, scratching his muscled neck. 

“Yeah, that might just work. We only have one doctor at the station, and that’s Jefferson… plus with all the added support from the Prydwen, we have too many Knights and Paladins, and his workload is getting bigger.” He said. 

Nate chimed in, nodding. “Yeah… one of these days he’s going to drop dead from exhaustion.” Alice searched her mind, trying to remember the woman’s name. 

“What about Haylen?” Danse looked like a question mark. “She was at the station when I dropped off the transmitter. She’s a doctor, right?” 

“Yeah, but she’s on leave.” 

“Why?” She asked. 

“She’s on maternity leave. All the danger and excitement out there is too much for the baby. Haylen’s resuming some duties aboard the ship instead.” Alice understood now why she wasn’t there when they had dropped by to hitch a ride back to the airport. 

“Alright, I guess I’ll meet her in the med bay from now on.” 

The Paladin chuckled. “I suppose. Just make sure you don’t try to “bubble-wrap” her. She gets enough of that from both Cade and Rhys.” 

Alice snorted in response. “How long have we known each other, Danse?” He shrugged. “I don’t bubble-wrap shit, certainly not people. Don’t worry about me, worry about Cade.” 

“Why?” He asked, confused with her response. 

“Because like I said… I’m not good at taking orders.” 

 

* * *

 

During her first day as a Scribe, Alice had learned to set fractures, basic suturing and how to properly tie a tourniquet, things she would no doubt have use for when she returned to the field. 

Cade had scolded her several times, proving once again that the man was tougher than the usual lot that Alice had dealt with since setting foot on the Prydwen. He wasn’t scared of her nor did he tolerate her attitude. Had it not been for her promise to Nate, she was sure she would have killed the poor doctor by this point. 

Haylen had proven a good teacher, taking her time where Cade had not, giving her useful tips and forgiving her mistakes whenever they happened. The pregnant woman was incredibly patient with the merc, looking over her shoulder, but not afraid to step in when the blonde got in over her head. 

It was a perfect symbiosis, as Haylen got just as much knowledge from Alice as the mercenary got from the other Scribe, trading medical knowhow for battle experiences. Haylen had learned how to effectively deploy landmines and Kingsley now knew what to do first when arriving at a tricky situation when one needed to act fast. 

Triage was the key to field trauma. 

At the end of the day, Haylen had been more of a friend than a teacher for the young blonde, while Cade had been neither. The man was as good at teaching as a deathclaw was at becoming a vegetarian, but Alice didn’t pay him any additional attention as he deemed her a lost cause. 

So she had left the med bay, vowing to return for Haylen’s sake and not the grouchy old doctor’s. 

On her way out, Alice bumped into the one person she hadn’t expected to be there. 

“Miss Kingsley.” Despite never having met the man, she knew exactly who he was. 

_ The contact.  _

She nodded. “Yeah… and you’re Malachite. I assume that you have a mission update for me?” He pulled her aside, into a dark and quiet corner where they could speak undisturbed. The man wore the outfit of a Paladin, an olive green outfit, with gray hair and a Hollywoodian beard. His hair reminded her strongly of Elder Maxson’s own cut, only slightly shorter and brushed to the side. 

He continued to speak. “Winter wanted me to give you this.” He handed over a holotape. “The instructions are on there. Listen to it, and then destroy it. Do not write up this information anywhere else. It’s imperative that the Brotherhood don’t know why you’re really here. Understood?” 

Alice nodded. “Who’s Winter?” 

He chuckled. “The woman who gave you the contract. You remember her, right?” 

The merc shuddered at the memory. “Yeah… I remember her. I’ll listen and then get rid of it.” She turned to leave when he grabbed her arm. 

“When you say get rid of it, I assume you mean destroy it, right?” 

Alice pulled away from him, straightening out her uniform. “Yes, I got it. Destroy it. Leave no trace behind.” She eyed him. “For future reference… what do I call you aboard the ship?” 

“When we’re around people…” He paused. “- you call me Brandis.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bam, bam, bam. Of course, some of you figured it out when I described him, but I still wanted to end it on a more epic note. It’s just better for the story. I know that some of you thought that Danse was the contact since I did cut directly to his point of view in the previous chapter. It sort of makes sense that Brandis is the contact since he’s been out in the Commonwealth for such a long time without any contact with the Brotherhood. 
> 
> I wanted to thank all of you for sticking with the story, it really helps a lot to read your comments. The feedback has been amazing so far ^^. Keep on feeding my writer’s soul! It’s very hungry, ya’ll. 
> 
> Until next time, JA NE!


	10. Revelations

Maxson paced around the Command Deck, reading a report as he wandered to and fro. 

_ “She’s brash and unresponsive to reason. Lashes out at me and the others for no reason at all. Doesn’t listen to commands and simple requests. Has no respect for injured brothers and sisters. Has no foreseeable future in the Brotherhood of Steel. My recommendation is to terminate the relationship between the Brotherhood and Miss Kingsley.  _

_ Signed, Knight-Captain Cade.”  _

The Elder frowned and sighed in annoyance at the trouble the woman proved to be to her fellow soldiers, but had to remind himself why she was here in the first place. 

Not only did she boost morale in Priors and Danse, but she also had a way with Emily Haylen, which was no easy task. True, the Scribe was pleasant and polite, but her trust issues left much to be desired. The two were really one and the same, if one thought about it hard enough. 

Even though he knew very little about Alice, Arthur knew that she was not somebody that you messed with, that much was apparent through Cade’s efforts to lecture the woman. Which is precisely why he had ordered her presence at his location within the hour. 

Not that she’d listened. 

The hour had passed, then it had turned into two and at last, three. Maxson was about to give up all hope that she would actually show up, when she stomped into the Command Deck, angrier than a hive of stingwings. 

She raised her finger. “If I have to work with that man for another day, I’m going to slit somebody’s throat… preferably my own.” Alice plopped down on one of the couches, throwing her arms and legs out and grunted in a very un-womanly fashion. 

“Scribe Kingsley. I did not give you permission to have a seat.” He said dryly. 

She eyed him angrily. “Does it look like I give a flying fuck?” 

“Not really, but at least the illusion of it is necessary. I am your commanding officer after all.” He replied. 

“Fair enough.” She countered and rose to her feet. The mercenary stood a couple of feet from him, puffing up her chest to look more authoritarian than him. “So why am I here, Maxson?” 

“I’d appreciate some respect, Scribe.” She pursed her lips and pouted, trying to convince herself that she was here for the mission and the mission alone.

“I apologize, Elder. May I ask why you called me here?” 

He was taken aback by her sudden politeness, but recovered quickly. “I have a report from the Knight-Captain in my hand.” He demonstrated the file. “It doesn’t paint a pretty picture of you, Miss Kingsley. Care to explain?” 

She shrugged. “I don’t know what it says so I can’t really confirm nor deny what’s in it.” 

He furrowed his brows, reading it aloud.  _ “She’s brash and unresponsive to reason. Lashes out at me and the others for no reason at all. Doesn’t listen to commands and simple requests. Has no respect for injured brothers and sisters. Has no foreseeable future in the Brotherhood of Steel. My recommendation is to terminate the relationship between the Brotherhood and Miss Kingsley.”  _ Arthur paused to give her some time to let it sink in. All she did was stare blankly his way. “This doesn’t read all that well now, does it?” 

“Suppose it doesn’t. It’s not like I care what that ass-hat has to say about me. I informed Danse that I wasn’t good at taking orders. You agreed that neither one of you would try to change me… is that no longer so?” 

“That was part of the arrangement, yes. But when you chose to join the Brotherhood, you chose all that came with it. I’m willing to overlook your mistakes in the matter, but I will  _ not  _ tolerate your disregard for respect. That was never part of the agreement.” He spoke, trying to get her to see it his way… the Brotherhood way. 

“So I’m just supposed to respect that… that… dick-head. Furthermore-” 

He cut her off with a loud yell. “Miss Kingsley! Enough.” She went eerily quiet, which left the Elder wondering what was going on in that clusterfuck she called brain. He continued in a slightly more hushed tone. “I understand that adapting is difficult, but you will respect your superiors. That means no insulting nicknames, no rude or condescending comments and absolutely no threats. Cade told me in person that you threatened to cut off his tongue if he spoke to you again. Your behavior is unacceptable!” 

Alice frowned deeply. “Fine… I won’t.” She paused. “But we had a deal, Maxson. I expect you to honor that agreement.” 

He nodded. “So long as you honor your part. You took an oath, Scribe. I want you to give me your word that such a thing will not be repeated.” 

“I swear on my mother’s grave that I’ll behave respectfully towards the ass-ha…” She paused, sighing deeply. “Knight-Captain.” Arthur could accept that. 

“Good. Now resume your duties, Kingsley. I don’t want to see you here again for such a reason. Understood?” Alice approached the man cautiously, standing on her tiptoes to reach his ear. 

“Want to see me here for any other reasons,  _ Maxson? _ ” The words shot straight to his cock, feeling how he got harder by the second. He swallowed audibly. Arthur knew that he needed to end this, and quickly, lest she notices his growing erection. 

“Not at all,  _ Kingsley. _ ” He retorted, feeling as the sweat made its way down his back. She withdrew, making him sigh in relief. “Cade is expecting you down at the airport.” 

“What for?” She asked sweetly, as if this reprimand had never happened. 

“I don’t know, but I suggest you get down there as fast as possible. It’s never good to keep him waiting.” Alice had noticed during the past couple of days just how bad of an idea it was to ignore the man’s summonses. The reprimand was quite brutal as he had forced her to clean out the bedpans until they were practically sparkling. 

It made her gag just thinking about it. 

Alice nodded. “I’ll get to it right away.” the merc was walking away, leaving the man to watch the sway of her round hips, until she turned around. “Checking out the goods?” His head whipped up with a faint dust of pink adorning his cheeks. “Looking… no touching. Got it, Elder?” 

“I-”

“There’s no need to apologize, Elder. There’s no rule against looking. I’ll see you around, Maxson.” 

Arthur agreed. “That you will, Kingsley.” 

She walked away, this time for real, forcing the Elder to take his eyes off the woman as she disappeared through the door. 

_ Into the rabbit hole you go, my dearest Alice. _

 

* * *

 

Alice was knackered by the time she got back aboard the giant ship, so the only reasonable thing for her to do was to fall into bed, despite the hour still being early. 

She had witnessed the most grotesque of surgeries, the removal of a metal pole that was protruding from a Knight’s stomach, and at some point, she had wondered if it was alright to throw up through the mask. 

Alice had pushed the oncoming vomit, instead focusing on the actual task at hand, but slowly let her mind wander to anything but the man on the table. Fifth grade calculus, the countless math tests she had failed throughout the years, the cat loving Proctor in a miniskirt jumping around without anything underneath, making all of his glory dangle free. Of course, that only made her more nauseous, so she had to force her brain to cooperate with her. 

Cade had spoken, trying his very best to catch her attention and to teach her how to one day do this on her own, but had failed to see just how gone she was. 

Eventually, Alice had lost the battle and puked all over the floor, luckily having time to remove the mask she was wearing. After that she had been asked to leave as to not contaminate the operating room, which she thanked the Gods for. 

She had made it aboard the Prydwen by the skin of her teeth when yet another wave of it had come spewing out of her at the speed of light. Even though she had managed to lean over the railing, Alice still cursed the fact that some of it had gotten on her shoes. 

With a quick dab with a wet rag, they were clean enough to use again, although she sincerely doubted that she would. These boots would forever be known as the puke boots. 

Alice sighed deeply as she heard someone approach. “What do  _ you  _ want?” She asked rudely. 

“I just wanted to know if you’d destroyed the tape?” Brandis spat back. 

“No I gave it to everyone and their mothers… of course I destroyed it you dumbass. Do you think I’m retarded? That I’d risk execution just for-” He cut her off, stepping into her personal space. She rose from her laying position, still sitting on the bed as he leaned down. 

“I’m not sure what kind of person you are, Miss Kingsley. All I know is that my orders were clear, as were yours. You’re expected to follow them to the letter, otherwise our employer would get very disappointed.” 

She grunted. “Well, you’re going to have to take a number, bitch-cake. It’s not like you’re the only one that’s pissed at me. Besides, I’m not really that good at taking orders.”  

He huffed out a low chuckle with no amusement behind it. “Yes, I have noticed… but for your safety and removal from future Institute operations, I think you can find the reason for obeying. Otherwise, this is going to turn ugly.” 

Alice swallowed. “Fine, now get out of my bubble. I want to be alone.” 

Brandis chuckled as he walked away. “Don’t we all, Miss Kinsley… don’t we all?” 

The feeling of having ice water poured all over her back followed her throughout the day, and into her dreams where those words shook her to the core. 

_ Find a reason to obey, Alice.  _

_ Or you’re never gonna be free again. _

 

* * *

 

“So, what next?” Danse watched as the Knight shaved the last of his stubble off and rinsed his face from all remnants of the scentless soap the Brotherhood issued, free of charge. 

The Paladin shrugged. “I’m not sure. I think we ought to search the C.I.T ruins again. There’s something amiss with that place, I just can’t put my finger on what.” Nathan dried himself with a towel, and shook his head, Danse watching as droplets flew from his hair. 

“Nah… we’ve already searched the place, top to bottom, at least a hundred times. If the Institute is there, it’s extremely well hidden. I’m not even sure there is an entrance anymore.” Nate suddenly remembered his conversation with the Elder. “How about we go looking for proof?” 

“Sorry, what?” Danse asked, complete confused. 

“Just hear me out, okay?” Richard nodded and gave the go ahead. “A couple of weeks ago, someone told me about a man in a courser uniform who was looking through Diamond City for a man named Virgil. My source was tailing Kellogg when he overheard a conversation between the two regarding an Institute scientist that had gone rouge and that he was probably hauled up somewhere inside the Glowing Sea.” The Paladin eyed the Knight suspiciously. 

“So why hasn’t Maxson agreed to send out a detachment into the Sea already?” He asked. 

Nathan pursed his lips and sighed in defeat. “Because he claims that the source isn’t reliable. Says that we can’t trust them.” 

“So who’s the source?” He finally asked after a moment's silence, watching as Priors spoke again. 

“Nick Valentine.” 

Richard shook his head, indicating a hard no. “Have you lost your mind, soldier? Trusting the word of a synth that think’s it’s alive, the same synth who constantly tries to trick you into thinking that it’s your friend. Absolutely not!” He raised his voice higher until several people turned their heads. 

“That’s why I didn’t want to tell you.” The Paladin started pacing around the room, hands in his hair, trying to find the right words to convince the Knight that this was a suicide mission. “Please… Danse, I have no other leads. This might be the way into the Institute, isn’t that why you’re here? To find the Institute?” 

Richard sighed. “Yes, and no. We have others leads. Like I said, the C.I.T ruins-” 

Nathan cut him off with a stomp to the ground. “It’s pointless, Danse! That place is empty! This is the only good information I have gotten in months! Please just trust me on this one, man. I don’t want to go back empty handed again.” 

They stood, close yet far away from each other, staring into the abyss. Richard knew what needed to be done, no matter the consequences. 

“Let’s go talk to the synth again…” 

And so they went, flying off on the Vertibird, towards the giant castle in the sky. 

 

* * *

 

“I told you on numerous occasions, Priors. The answer is no!” 

After talking to Nick a final time, trying to get all the facts straight and checking for every tiny little trace of deceit, luckily not finding one, all three of them had approached Maxson with the new plan. 

One which he was stubbornly refusing to agree to. 

Nate sighed in frustration. “Please, Elder. I know that it’s a long shot, but if we were to do this, the Institute will be as good as ours. We’re so close, Maxson! If we give up now, we might as well let the Institute win! You wouldn’t risk an entire expedition, just  _ my  _ life!” He shouted, tears threatening to fall. 

Around the corner, footsteps echoed through the halls, alerting everyone to the new presence. She was looking worse for wear, with dark circles under her azure orbs, shining brightly. 

Alice had never looked so run down. 

“Scribe. I expected you an hour ago.” The Elder spoke in an angry tone, obviously upset that the woman had taken so long to get back to him after the ordeal at the airport. 

She sighed deeply. “Haven’t I been punished enough? What more do you want from me?” 

Arthur wondered that very same thing, many times over, deciding that no matter how many times that thought popped into his head, there was no conclusive answer. Maybe he simply wanted the pleasure of her company… 

_ Or maybe _

No. He had to push those thoughts aside and focus on their goal. 

“I want you to be on time, Scribe Kingsley, and to show respect as I’ve already informed you. What did you learn while with Knight-Captain Cade and Scribe Haylen down at the airport?” Alice paced, stopping only to stare at him with wide unblinking eyes. 

She huffed out a laugh. “What did I learn? What the hell did I learn!?” She yelled. “I learned that getting impaled by a metal pole is a monumentally stupid fucking idea. What more? Well, maybe the fact that watching someone remove said pole is so fucking horrendously disgusting. I swear, fucking over Kellogg and turning him into a pretzel was a hundred times easier.” The merc muttered under her breath. 

Nate froze. “What do you mean, turning Kellogg into a pretzel?” 

She froze as well. “This merc I killed… his name was Kellogg. Why?” 

In the next second, everything went from frozen to melting, forcing her to see the insanity in others, and what they would do to help the ones they loved. Nathan grabbed her arms, grasping them tightly. 

“What do you know about him? Tell me, Goddamnit!” He yelled at Alice, making her wince as he squeezed her tighter. “Ellie! Tell me what you know, for fucks sake!” 

She broke free from his grasp. “Fucking hell, man. What’s gotten into you?” 

Danse held him back from flying onto the Scribe a second time. “Just tell him what you know, please.” The Paladin pleaded, struggling to keep the Knight in his charge in check. 

“Fine. I got a contract from some fucker in a hood, giving me a location of a mercenary that he wanted dead. So I went, killed the dude, stole something latched onto his brain and went to the Memory Den.” She said candidly. 

“What was it?” Elder Maxson intervened. 

Alice shrugged. “I’m not really sure. Just some piece of brain matter with some sort of tech attached to it. My employer said that the less I knew, the better it would be. Hey, I didn’t ask any questions. The job paid fifteen hundred caps, so I didn’t argue. I just took the caps and went on with my fucking life.” 

Priors broke free, and tried to clutch onto her again. This time, Alice sidestepped him and watched as the Knight almost flew face first into the wall behind them, and probably would have had not Danse caught him at the last second. 

“What the hell, Nate? Do you want to kill me or something?” It was obvious that he was upset with her, and Alice couldn’t for the life of her figure out why… 

_ Unless… _

“Shit… Fuck, Nate I’m so sorry, man. I didn’t know that-” 

“Sorry for what, Ellinor? Sorry that the man you killed had the only way into the Institute, and the only way to find my son, or sorry because you sold their secrets for a measly fifteen fucking hundred? Answer me, dammit!” He spat. 

For the first time in her life, she actually feared Nathan Priors. The sweet man who always took care of her when her parents didn’t, the kind guy who invited her to stay over when the beatings became too much to bare, the man who she always ran to when things went south… 

“I’m sorry that this happened to you, Nate. I really am, but I didn’t know that you needed pieces of his brain at the time. You were gone, man… wiped off the face of the fucking earth… everyone from the vault was. I survived because I played by the rules.” She replied, voice dripping with uncertainty and pain from, despite the time that had passed, the fresh wounds. 

“What mother fucking rules, Ellie?” Had it not been for the actual danger of him murdering her, Alice would have clapped and laughed at his insanity… would have celebrated it with great fervor… but this was different. 

This wasn’t the sort of madness one rejoiced. 

She brushed a few strands of hairs from her face, removing her skull bandana from her face, finally revealing all of her. 

“The Commonwealth rules. You do or you die, that’s the law of the wasteland. I did what I did in order to survive, no matter what I had to sacrifice. I lost so much of my humanity since I got out. I can’t even begin to imagine the pain that you’ve been through, of losing a wife… but I can understand the pain of losing a son.” Arthur’s head whipped up, trying to comprehend the words that came out of her mouth. 

_ “But I can understand the pain of losing a son.”  _

“You bore a child?” Maxson asked cautiously, afraid that he might be stepping on her toes. 

She turned her attention to him. “It’s not important…” Alice spun around. “Look, Nate… I’m sorry.” 

The Knight shook his head, weeping into the palm of his hands. “You don’t understand anything, Ellinor. Kellogg was the only one that had access to the Institute… and without whatever you sold, Maxson here won’t even approve a mission into the Glowing Sea. So, no… I don’t forgive you, Ellie… I can’t.” 

The Elder stepped in. “I said that without a reliable source, I wouldn’t. If Miss Kingsley were to give up the name of the person she sold the item to, we might be able to locate them and retrieve it for ourselves.” All eyes were on her. 

Alice shook her head, hard. “No… hell no. I don’t give out my employers names. What, did you expect me to just hand you the Institute on a fucking silver platter?” 

Nathan’s eyes were brighter than flames, burning hotter than wildfire. “Give me their name or I’m gonna strangle you, you hear me?” 

She wasn’t fazed anymore… she couldn’t be. “Look, I ge-” 

“What would it take?” Danse interrupted. 

Alice sighed. “It’s not that simple, Danse. Even if I wanted to give you their name, I don’t have it. He never said his name… just gave me a code phrase in case I needed to get in contact with them again.” 

“So what would it take to get that code?” Arthur asked. 

_ Get him to fall in love with you.  _

“A date. From you. A romantic once with candles and all that shit. Promise that you will, and I’ll give you the phrase right here and now.” Alice was prepared for him to turn her down and try to pry it out of the newly appointed Scribe, but he surprised them all. 

Maxson nodded. “You’ve got a deal… now, give us the phrase.” 

Alice exhaled. “All I have is this, alright… nothing more, so don’t come back asking for-”

“For fucks sake, Ellie! Just tell me already!” Nate screamed, startling her. 

_ Now or never. _

“Follow the freedom trail.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dauym… who knew that the Railroad was behind the whole thing? Well, apart from me that is. Hmm… The next chapter might contain some Arthur and Alice action, not sure though. Anyways, thank you all so much for your feedback, it’s been an amazing read. I’m gonna cut this short, as I feel like I might fall asleep any second. I really have to stop writing through the night, I swear to God…  
> So, until next time, JA NE!


	11. The cheshire cat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My OC Mess hall officer Beyhard makes an appearance XD

The air around him, the mold that had begun spreading, the faint trace of brain fungus plus the musty scent of the rot from the wooden floors were too much to bare. The stench of the rotten dead had haunted him from the second he’d set foot inside of the church and it was so dominant that even Danse started gagging, having to stop several times in order to not hurl into the tin can he was locked up tightly inside. 

Nathan just kept pressing on, reaching around every poorly illuminated corner in search for the entrance. 

If Alice had been right, remained to be seen, but judging by the amount of safehouse symbols, Nate was certain that she was. 

_ She has to be right. _

Behind him, the Paladin was panting loudly. “Hold up, Knight… I think I’m gonna be sick.” 

“What else is new?” Priors muttered in response. 

As they got deeper into the basement, Nathan realized that something was off… very off by the looks of all the dust. He looked around, noticing only now just how few ferals there were, despite the ones that had been on the ground level. 

He became suspicious. “Danse… something’s not right.” 

“You can say that again, soldier.” The Paladin retorted, still sick to his stomach. 

It was then that the pair happened upon a timetable, sitting snugly against the wall, just waiting for somebody to turn its dormant cogs… but first they needed the codeword. 

He had a clue what that might be.

Nate turned the table as he spoke again. “Did you notice how few ghouls we’ve encountered down here?” Danse shrugged. “Huh, starts with an r.” He said quietly under his breath. 

“Sure, I’ve seen a few dead ones… what of it?” 

“Exactly. Did you know that dust is mostly made out of-” The door opened, revealing a grim graveyard, people lay slaughtered at the entrance. By the looks of the amount of dead synths littering the room, spread out between its own kind and the agents, everyone's favorite boogeyman had been part of this. 

“Damn… we were too late.” Danse said quietly, watching the Knight for any indication or sign of anger. All he found was a broken man, staring blankly at the corpses. “What is dust mostly made out of, Priors?” 

“Dead skin cells.” 

_ Fuck. _

 

* * *

 

Arthur overlooked the Commonwealth, as he always did whenever the paperwork got the better of him, and the letters started fusing together, making them impossible to decipher. The Elder always came here when those times hit hard, forcing himself to see the reality for once and not just a bunch of random words coupled together into a sentence… and the reality was gruesome. 

The Knight and the Paladin had left four hours ago, the day now steadily growing into evening, as the setting sun started disappearing under the horizon to shine somewhere else for a change. 

Maxson wondered where that might be… if there even was a beyond the horizon anymore. 

There hadn’t been so much as a whisper from anywhere else in the world, and the initial contact they’d had with a Chinese submarine when they arrived in this new wasteland, was hastily lost in a sea of random radio chatter and radiation interference. 

Most of the time, even their tech was useless in a radstorm, which was the cause of much of his paper work.

Not even the Capital Wasteland was this horribly irradiated. And since the Vertibirds had been constructed back in the former city of Washington, it wasn’t made for Boston’s post-war climate changes.  

Ever since the Brotherhood’s grand arrival into the Commonwealth, many had succumbed to the brutal weather changes and unforgiving nature all around them, but they were all determined to never give up or give in, pushing forward into a foggy and uncertain future that may or may not bring glory and victory. 

It was the not knowing part that made him wake up with a frown every morning. Of not knowing if today would be his last upon this earth, or if he would ever get to see his home again. 

The one standing strongly and safely in the Capital Wasteland, intimidating every raider, mutant and feral that dared approach, in the end only learning one single thing before they met their demise. 

_ You play with the fire… you get burned.  _

“Elder?” Arthur met the azure blue eyes of the intruder, relaxing once he realized just who was interrupting his thoughts.  

Her small frame was clad in a beautiful prewar crimson dress with glitter, making it sparkle with the light, hugging her curves tightly, leaving little to the imagination. The former merc had removed the mask, showing off her pearly white teeth and dashing smile, lips covered in a baby pink lip gloss, glistening brightly. 

Those blue eyes reminded the Elder of stars falling from heaven, forming craters in their wake, dark and destructive… but to him, Alice was no longer those things. He’d seen just how much she wanted to change from her time in the Brotherhood, no matter what people thought… Maxson saw it with his own eyes. 

His mouth went dry and he swallowed. “Scribe.” The man greeted. 

“Elder.” She replied. 

Arthur cleared his throat. “So… what merits this visit?” 

“Oh, come on, Maxson. You telling me that you can’t figure it out?” He shrugged, shaking his head slightly. “I’m in a dress, I’m wearing makeup and you and I both have the evening off… you’re taking me on a date, remember?” 

Eventually he did.

The price for information never came cheap from the mercenary.

He nodded. “Yes, I do remember the agreement. So where were you planning on taking me, Scribe?” 

She unabashedly approached and grabbed his hand, entwining their fingers, eventually leaning in close to whisper something into his sensitive ear. 

“The couch, the bed, the desk… heck I’ll even settle for the floor if you’re up for a little quick and dirty.” Arthur was taken aback by her sudden flirtation, or outright seduction, but recovered quickly. 

He stepped back, hitting the railing. “I…” He coughed and straightened out his coat. “Don’t make such assumptions, Scribe. This is simply a fulfillment of an agreement… nothing more. And sexual contact wasn’t part of said agreement.” 

She pouted uncharacteristically, then again… she was as unpredictable as she was attractive, and though he never said it aloud, Arthur knew what she thought of him. He wondered just how big his pupils were at the moment, outing his secrets as if though it was written on his sleeves. 

Alice hooked a slender arm in his own strong one. “Ah, but the night is young, my little rabbit. Much can be achieved in a few hours.” And Maxson couldn’t help wondering if she was right. 

As per her request, nay, demand, he had invited her to have dinner in his quarters, although the young Elder knew just how monumentally stupid it was to do so. To invite the woman is was like stripping down to his birthday suit and laying down underneath a microscope for her to study at her will. 

Alice was pacing the room, picking up a few pieces to inspect. “Why would you look at that… a baseball glove. Didn’t peg you for the guy who enjoys watching baseball.” She hummed while she was strolling, making him strangely nervous. 

“I don’t enjoy watching, I enjoyed playing catch with my father… when he was…” 

She noticed the uncertainty. “Alive?” Alice finished. 

Arthur shook his head. “No… when he was around. My father was a high ranking Paladin in the Brotherhood, so when duty called, he up and left my mother and I for the sake of keeping the world safe.” He paused, having not even realized just how caught up in the past he had gotten. “Sorry… melancholy is a strange thing.” 

The woman said nothing, just kept snooping around. “Who are they?” She picked up a photo on random, holding it up. “Your family?” 

He chuckled in a low tone. “No, Miss Kingsley. That’s a photo of Roger Maxson, my ancestor.” 

“So he’s sort of your family?” She asked, still holding on tightly. 

He sighed. “Yeah… I guess you could say that. Just a distant relative.” 

“But it’s a direct line, so why would it be-” 

He cut her off. “I don’t intend to get caught up in all of this.” 

Alice shrugged. “In what?” 

Maxson was unsure of how to tell it to her without hurting her feelings. 

_ A hands on approach might be better.  _

“In the rabbit hole of your psyche. You have a way of snaring people into your net and luring them in, only to leave them completely lost wondering what the he-” Arthur paused with a defeated sigh and a chuckle. “You know what… no. I’m not going to explain myself. Let’s just eat and be done with it.” 

Alice put the photo down onto the table and sat down right in front of the Elder, who was awkwardly staring at the clock, wishing for time to pass by faster. Eventually, she sighed in defeat, lighting a cigarette. 

He grabbed it from her lips and ground it out in the ashtray on the table. Alice raised her hands up high in an annoyed gesture. 

“The fuck, man?” She exclaimed angrily. 

“In case you hadn’t noticed, Scribe, we’re under giant metal containers with highly flammable gas. I don’t intend on ending up like a well cooked steak.” The Scribe ran a hand through her orion locks. 

“Geez, fine, I get it. No smoking inside of the ship. I’m just curious as to why you have an ashtray in here if you don’t use it.” She muttered lowly. Arthur thought back to the day when him and his mother had received the news of his father’s demise. That day, when he had been forced from his home into alien territory, he had turned into a man. 

He exhaled deeply. “It was a gift… from my mentor.” 

Alice leaned forward, listening intensly. “Who was your mentor?” She asked, surprised that she actually seemed genuinely interested in his background. 

“Elder Owyn Lyons.” He reluctantly shared. Maxson leaned back, stroking his coarse beard. “He was the Elder before me. The same day that I found out about my father’s death, my mother sent me to the Citadel in the Capital Wasteland. Owyn took me under his wing, as did his daughter Sarah.” 

She smiled. “How old were you?” 

Arthur shrugged and grabbed two glasses from his desk. “Nine- no, ten. I think…” He paused with a deep sigh. “It’s been a long time since then.” 

Alice giggled sweetly, watching as the man in front of her poured them each a drink. While plain whiskey was not her favorite, she accepted with a small thank you. They both sipped in silence, treading lightly in each other's company as the ground was new and unbroken. 

Eventually though, she gathered enough composure to continue. “So how long have you been Elder?” 

He knocked back the last of his drink. “Five years or so. Became Elder at sixteen, the youngest in history.” 

“That’s quite the accomplishment. Ever think of doing something different with your life?” She asked carefully, unsure if the new intrusion was unwanted. 

Arthur shook his head in a determined fashion. “No. The Brotherhood has been, and always will be, my life.” 

“I see.” She replied in a hushed manner, wondering how to continue their conversation. After a while, it grew dry and boring with them only discussing official matters. Her work as a Scribe, whether or not she needed a new pair of shoes, and other insignificant things. She replied shortly and to the point, not wishing to continue further down this path. 

She almost moaned in relief when a mess hall officer entered the room with two trays of various food. Grilled Deathclaw steak with tatos and a vegetable sauce, cooked to perfection. 

“Thank you, Beyhard.” Maxson turned to the officer. 

“I hope it’s to your liking.” The officer replied, letting his eyes wander to the woman to his right. More specifically her breasts. While modest in size, they had certainly turned a lot of heads over the years. 

The Scribe took notice and started rubbing them. Her eyes met his. “Do you like them?” She asked innocently, playing oblivious to the fact that it was extremely inappropriate. The man turned his head, saluted quickly and darted out of the room with cheeks redder than a whore’s in church. 

Arthur met her gaze, furiously staring at the younger woman. “What the hell was that all about?” He asked, nay, demanded. 

The merc shrugged. “What? If you want to reprimand me for that, you really ought to punish that whore monger as well!” She retorted in an annoyed voice. 

Maxson leaned back, running a hand through his hair. “You can’t do stuff like that, Kingsley.” She pouted again, shuffling the tato’s back and forth on her plate. It looked as if though she was deep in thought, which by his estimations meant that she was deep into the Wonderland forest by now. 

Eventually he had to ask. “If your real name is Ellinor, then why are you called Alice?” The mercenary smirked. 

“Why do you think? I’m crazy, I have a knack for fucking people up in the head and my last name is Kingsley. Plus, Alice is that much cuter than Ellinor.” He nodded absentmindedly. 

They sat in silence for awhile, listening to the ticking of the wakemaster alarm clock by his bed. She shuffled uncomfortably for quite some time before he got too annoyed by it. 

“Please stop that.” 

“Stop what?” She asked sweetly, voice laced with deviousness. 

“You know exactly what I mean, Miss Kingsley.” She shrugged. 

“Not really. Enlighten me, Elder.” He let out an annoyed huff. 

“Shuffling the way you do.” 

“I can’t help it. My panties keep riding up-” He slammed his palms into the table, blushing furiously. 

“I really don’t need to know that, Scribe.” Alice smirked, chuckling darkly as she chewed on her food. Arthur found himself both annoyed and entranced by the creature sitting in front of him. On one hand, she was extremely hard to deal with, and on the other… her eyes were just an enchanting shade of blue that lulled its prey into a false sense of security. 

He gave up trying to fight her. “Tell me more about yourself, Miss Kingsley. About your life before the war.” Alice once again shrugged. 

“There really isn’t that much to tell. My father was an abusive alcoholic, my mother a neurotic hare. No siblings, no pets, no friends. The normal shit.” Arthur shook his head in disbelief. 

“Normal? What the hell do you call abnormal?” 

“Happily married, kids you love and who love you back, house in the suburbs with a white picket fence, nice grandparents, friends who you drink coffee with and bitch about life together. You know, that sort of idealistic bullshit that you only see in the movies.” The Elder gaped at her, but once again gave up. 

“Alright. So how do you know Knight Priors?” He asked as he was glancing at the clock. 

“He was my neighbor before all of this. When my dad was too shitfaced to be around or my mother too high on chems, I crashed on their couch. I’m sort of like a second child to them.” 

“I see…” He trailed off, uncertain how to continue their conversation. “What more?” 

“I dunno. There really isn’t that much more.” The Elder suddenly remembered her fight with Nathan. 

“You said you knew what it was like to lose a son. So you’ve birthed a child?” 

Alice shook her head. “Nope. Never got through the second trimester before I miscarried.” 

“Who was the father?” The merc tilted her head to the side. 

“Why do you want to know? It’s not like they’re alive still.” 

“Your doing?” She snorted before it actually turned into a full on laugh attack. 

“Hell no.” She said when it had stopped. The pre-war vault dweller wiped some tears that had fallen. “Back in the days, that was extremely illegal. It was called murder.” 

Arthur stopped, mid bite, and glared at her. “I know what murder is. But knowing you, it’s not like it would have stopped you.” 

Alice smiled quickly, before letting her eyes go blank. “No… I suppose it wouldn’t have.” 

He remained quiet until breaking the silence with an uncertain question. “So how did he die?” She looked up from her haze, right into his eyes. Maxson looked away, fearing that if he stared too long, he might as well enter into the rabbit hole willingly. 

“In the Great War. Either that, or he’s a ghoul.” 

“Did you love him?” Alice shook her head. 

“Not really. It was just one of those things, you know? A summer fling that ended badly. The second he found out that I was pregnant, he bolted. I think he married soon after that. We still got together on occasion.” She caught his attention. 

“Do you really have no respect for the sanctity of marriage?” He asked, a little bit upset at her behavior. 

“Not really. It’s just a piece of paper. And he’s the asshat in this situation. He was of age while I wasn’t. Back before the war, you weren’t legal until you were eighteen.” The Elder may as well have been a question mark at that point. “You couldn’t legally bed someone until they were eighteen. I was only sixteen at the time.” 

Maxson remembered something about pre-war law. “Statutory rape, right?” 

Alice nodded. “Yeah, though what we did was totally consensual. Not that the state would agree.” 

“So he was a pedofile?” The blonde woman snorted. 

“No. A pedofile is someone who’s actracted to pre pubescent boys or girls, and well… I had gone through puberty. But there’s something about a woman with “daddy issues” that turns some guys on.” She made air quotes. 

“I see.” 

“So what about you? Tell me about  _ yourself. _ ” She retorted. 

Arthur leaned back, leaving the rest of the food for the time being, and stroked his coarse beard. “Most of my life’s story has been recorded in the scrolls.” Alice exhaled in annoyance. 

“I mean, something personal. Favorite food, color, favorite sexual position or some shit like that. Anything that isn’t recorded in your precious scrolls.” 

He thought hard on just how much he wanted to reveal to her. Too much might give her the impression that she had the right to go digging through his past with a five foot shovel, but too little might leave her upset. 

“Blue, brahmin steak, and none of your business, Miss Kingsley.” They stared at each other, up and down, taking in every little detail. Some part of him was appalled that she’d dared ask such a deeply personal question, the other intrigued by her courage and ability to not care what others thought of her. 

He eventually decided that it was a little bit of both. 

“I heard the damndest rumor that you were married and had a kid once. Is that true?” Alice gathered up the courage to ask. 

Arthur nodded. “Yeah. They’re both gone now though. Perished in a fire a couple of years back.” 

While the merc might seem cold, unforgiving and a complete nutter, some part of her was also warm, caring and compassionate. It was that part that was shining brightly now. Without any sort of hidden agenda behind it, she placed a palm over his hand and smiled sadly. 

“I’m sorry for your loss. That can’t have been easy to overcome.” 

The Elder mimicked her expression. “No… no it wasn’t.” 

“Did you love her?” His expression changed in a second, going from reminiscent into irked in a millisecond. “Hey, sorry. Didn’t mean to upset you. I’m just asking because most marriages these days are forged out of need to reproduce and not out of love. I’m just curious as to what your reason was for marrying her.” 

“If I’m being honest, not that it’s any of your concern, it was a little bit of both. I loved Ana from the very start. But the main reason we married was so that we could have Aiden.” While she knew the answer, Alice asked anyway. 

“Do you miss them?” 

“All the time.” He paused to take a breath. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t give to get them back.” 

Before she could ask yet another question, Danse came crashing through the door, face filled with fear, screaming out in the most distraught voice she’d ever heard him utter. 

“Priors has been kidnapped!”    

_ To be continued…  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For all of those who didn’t get my little wordplay in the title of the chapter, just remember that the cheshire cat sometimes disappears… like… Poof! I know, bad pun, but still… XD I just had to ;)  
> Thank you all for your comments, your support and your love. Thank you so much for everything :) Next chapter should be out soon, so stay tuned ;)   
> Until next time, JA NE!


	12. The reality

“Do we know who took him?” Ten minutes after Danse’s return, everyone on the ship knew exactly what had happened to the Knight. Five minutes after that, the Elder had gathered all the high ranking officials aboard the Prydwen to a crisis meeting. And as of a minute ago, they were all standing around, shouting out questions at the shocked Paladin. 

“N-no…” He stammered uncharacteristically “Could have been either the Railroad or the Institute.” 

Arthur frowned deeply. “Tell me again exactly what happened.” Richard eyes met the Elder’s. They were wide and unblinking. 

“When Priors and I entered the church basement, he made a comment on the amount of dead ferals. He asked me if I knew what dust was mainly made out of.” Alice, who wasn’t really part of the top brass but had been allowed to attend, stepped up and answered. 

“Dead skin… you found human corpses?” Danse nodded. 

“Yeah… They might have been Railroad agents, but there were also Institute synths scattered amongst the bodies.” Quinlan shrugged. 

“It could just have been rouge synths who disappeared and joined the Railroad.” 

The Paladin shook his head. “No… as far as we know, the Railroad doesn’t save gen 1’s and 2’s. These were really old model synths. The ones who look nothing like humans.” 

“What happened after that?” The Elder experimentally urged his friend to continue. 

“I-I… I don’t really know. One second, we’re talking and the next, something knocked me flat out. I woke up, and he was gone.” Captain Kells crossed his arms. 

“How do we know that Knight Priors wasn’t the one that did it? He could have knocked you unconscious and made off in search of clues on his own.” Many people, mainly Quinlan and Cade chimed in with words of agreement. 

“Yes, Knight Priors does have a tendency to color outside the lines when it comes to these things. The Elder shot his proposal down one too many times, and he snapped.” The cat loving Proctor spoke enthusiastically, having obviously already made up his mind that the Knight in question was the guilty party. 

“I agree with Kells and Quinlan. Nathan’s psyke profile portrays a man with a deep anger and depression. Signs of frustration are obvious as well. It wouldn’t surprise me if-” Maxson cut them off with a hand thrust sharpy in the air. 

“That’s speculation as well as slander, Knight-Captain. Furthermore, outing a patient’s personal psyke assessment in front of one of his peers is borderlining malpractice. As a doctor, doctor patient confidentiality clearly states that such records are for eyes only. They’re to remain strictly under wraps. All of this is just guess work.” Richard raised his hand. 

“If I may cut in, Elder?” 

“Granted.” Maxson curtly replied. 

“Thank you. It can’t have been Priors.” 

“And why not?” Quinlan angrily spat. “It would fit with everything-” 

Danse cut him off. “No it can’t have been him, because he was crouching next to a corpse at the moment of my blackout. Are you saying that he somehow floated behind me, knocked me out, all the while never leaving my line of vision. It simply isn’t possible. It must have been either the Institute or the Railroad themselves.” The Paladin turned to Alice. “They must have known that we were coming there.” 

Everyone’s eyes were suddenly on her. The former merc raised her hands high up in the air. “You’re accusing me now all of a sudden?” 

“It would fit with-” The British Proctor started forming a sentence, but Alice was so done with his shit. 

“You just love blaming shit on people, don’t you, Quinlan?” She spat. “Alright, two can play that game. Have you ever considered the fact that Danse or the Elder could have done this?” Their gazed turned from Alice and to the two men now standing accused. 

“That’s preposterous!” Cade yelled. “The Elder wouldn’t do such a thing!” 

Alice smirked. “But you’re not saying that Danse wouldn’t.” She turned to the Paladin. “I’m not saying that you did, but it would be a better explanation than being “knocked out flat” by an unknown assailant. Maybe you fabricated this whole story on your way here. So by that logic, you could have kidnapped Nate, stored him somewhere we don’t and run back here to retell a bogus story to gain our sympathies.” 

It left everybody deep in thought, seeing new connections. 

Maxson snapped. “Why in the world would he do such a thing?” 

Alice shrugged. “Fuck it if I know. But can’t you see that this is exactly what rumors and speculations do? On that note, what reason would  _ I  _ have to tell the Railroad or the Institute what happened here?” 

Quinlan snarled at the young woman. “You’ve done jobs for the Railroad before.” 

“One job, Proctor. I’ve done  _ one  _ job for them. I don’t give a shit about synths. They’re not even people. Hell, I don’t care for most people. So what reason would I have?” She once again asked. 

Ingram, who had been silent up until that point, nodded slowly. 

“She’s got a point. Priors basically had to threatened her in order to get this information. It’s not like the Scribe wanted to reveal her employer in the first place.” 

Arthur exhaled in frustration. “Let’s just stop throwing blame and figure this out before it’s too late. The Knight could be in mortal danger as we speak. Let’s look at the facts and find him before we start accusing people high and low.” 

They instantly got to work, pouring over possible outcomes and explanations. At some point during the discussion, Alice excused herself, deciding to reach out to some of her contacts in Goodneighbor… at least that’s what she claimed. 

In all honesty, the Scribe was running through the ship, trying to find Malachite, or Brandis as he preferred she call him aboard the Prydwen. The Paladin was sitting in the mess hall, eating his supper when she carefully approached. 

He rose his head, meeting her angry glance. “A word, Paladin.” She hissed out. 

“If you insist, Scribe. Please… have a seat.” She eyed her surroundings, deeming the cafeteria too full of people to discuss their matters out in the open. The Scribe silently urged the Institute replacement to follow with the shake of her head towards the stairs. He tightened his jaw and sighed. “Very well, Miss Kingsley. May I at least finish my meal?” Alice shook her head. 

This matter needed to be discussed right away. 

“Alright.” Brandis rose wiped his mouth on a napkin, pushed his stool in, discarded the last of his food and followed the eager Scribe up the stairs towards the lower deck.

When she was certain that the guard on watch was out of earshot, she grabbed the Paladin’s uniform and clasped on tightly. “You and I are going to have a little chat regarding the whereabouts of Nathan Priors. Where has the Institute taken him?” Alice grabbed a hold so tightly that the Paladin had to rise to his toes in order not to choke. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Ellinor.” She cursed. Of course he knew every little detail about her life, but to hear her birthname fall off his lips felt like knives in her ears. 

“I’m talking about this afternoon’s kidnapping. Nate is missing, presumably taken by the Institute or the Railroad. What I want you to do is quite simple.” He listened closely. “I want you to contact Winter and ask her whether or not the Institute was behind this.” The man smirked. 

“And why would I do that?” 

She put him down on the ground. “Because, my dear  _ “Paladin”,  _ if you don’t, we’re both toast.” 

“Why would we be toast?” He repeated. 

“Because they are suspecting me of being behind all of this. My lead was the one that sent the Knight into the Railroad’s lair in the first place. If this somehow gets blamed on me, I go down and I go down  _ hard _ . I’ll sing like a fucking mockingjay.” Brandis stopped smirking and stared at her with eyes wide open. 

“You wouldn’t dare.” 

It was her time to smirk. “Oh but I would. If I don’t get paid, and if I can’t complete the mission because I’m apprehended, then what’s the point of me keeping your little secret? That’s the thing with mercenaries. Our services may be bought, but our loyalty isn’t. We understand one thing in this world and that’s money. We take payment from the highest bidder. You do well to remember that, Malachite.” 

Alice walked away, confident that her message had gotten through to the man. She left, feeling a sense of power again, for the first time since getting tangled up with the underground organisation. 

 

* * *

 

“Scribe. Do you have anything for me?” After the conversation with Malachite, Alice decided she needed some fresh air. Quite coincidentally, she’d stumbled upon one of the people she desperately wanted to avoid. 

Maxson had been on the Prydwen’s forecastle, smoking a cigarette, when she’d distraughtly stumbled upon the Elder. The Scribe shook her head, making orion locks fall everywhere. 

Arthur cleared his throat. “Yeah… I didn’t think so.” He didn’t sound angry or distrusting, just extremely frustrated. She didn’t say anything, just grabbed the cigarette from his hand and took a deep drag. When she exhaled she handed it back. 

The Elder took some time to study her, like he so often did when she was in his company. From her short time aboard the ship, Arthur deduced that her hair had grown a little, just enough for it to fall shy over the top of her almond shaped eyes. 

Alice had removed the bandana she always wore, revealing beautiful, pink and plump lips that were moist and well cared for. Her skin glowed brightly on the best of days, but was now a little bit dull from the lack of sunlight over the past few days. 

The Scribe stubbornly refused, despite his and Cade’s strong urges, to wear the standard cap all Scribes were required to wear. But thanks to her stubbornness, she showed off the most healthy locks of hair he’d ever seen on a human being. Most people nowadays wouldn’t care for such trivial things, especially not drifters or mercs. 

And Alice should be no different, considering how she always kept it covered by a hood. But it made a little more sense when one knew just which era the young woman grew up in. He wanted to ask more about those days, what it had been like back then, but held his tongue. Why, he didn’t know, nor did he care. 

He was content in her company, standing silent next to the one person he could finally admit, he would never fully understand. She was a mystery, and it made him glad to know that there was always a constant surprise. 

She continued where he had left off. “Are there any leads from your side?” 

“No.” He admitted with a heavy heart. “No new leads. As far as we’ve been able to deduce, you had nothing to do with it.” 

“Damn right I had nothing to do with it. What about Danse?” 

“We don’t believe that it was the Paladin either. But you were right about what you said. It only made things worse to throw accusations left and right without any tangible evidence to back it up. When we sat down calmly and looked at it through a logical and detached perspective, it made little sense that either Danse, you or I were involved.” The Scribe nodded slowly, trying to make sense of the situation. 

But until she had all the facts at her disposal, she just couldn’t make an educated guess. Until Malachite got back to her with Winter’s response, she would just have to wait and see. So for now, trying to work on her part of the Institute’s deal was the best way to spend her time. 

“So, what’s going on with you handsome?” She batted her long eyelashes at the man. 

Arthur shook his head. “Stop doing that.” 

“Doing what?” She asked, feigning innocence. 

“You’re trying too hard to seduce me, and it’s backfiring. The only thing that you’re succeeding in is annoying me and making me highly suspicious. This is not like you, Alice.” The merc shrugged. 

“How do you know how I am?” She muttered under her breath. 

“I don’t… not really. But I know that this can’t be who you really are. Truth be told, you are making me feel a little bit uncomfortable.” 

She bit her lip, not in an attempt at seducing the man, but rather to hide her embarrassment at getting caught with her hand in the cookie jar. It did her no good to get caught so easily. 

“Right… sorry. I just really like you, and when I like someone, I tend to go a taaaaad bit overboard.” She replied, fiddling with her hair in nervosity. 

Arthur smiled and chuckled. “Now that seems more like you.” But the smile never reached his eyes, staying solely on his chapped lips. “For what it’s worth, I’m still not over my wife. I’m not ready to move on. But I appreciate your advances.” 

Alice barked out a laugh. “What? Do they make you feel pretty?” This time, she jokingly batted her eyelashes in an attempt at humoring him instead. 

“Well, I wouldn’t put it quite that way. They make me feel wanted. I just don’t have the reserve to act on such feelings right now.” The young Scribe nodded in understanding. 

“Do you think that you’ll ever move on?” 

Maxson remained silent, finishing his cigarette in a haste. He threw the butt off it as far as he could, probably dunking it into the ocean below. “That’s a fair question.” He replied. “Maybe one day. I know that I’ll never stop loving them or ever truly forget them, but at some point, there will come a time where I have to put them aside to make way for something new. After all, the Maxson line needs an heir. I can’t be the sole survivor of my family line, lest the whole Brotherhood goes up in flames before it can ever really rebuild anew.” 

“I know what that’s like. Being the sole survivor, I mean.” 

He looked at her with furrowed brows. “You’re not the last of your line, nor are you the sole survivor of vault 111.” 

Alice smiled. “That’s only half true. I am the last of my line, not that it’s of any use to the Brotherhood. It’s not like it needs to be continued or anything like that.” She paused. “As for the vault thing, no I’m not the only survivor. But for quite some time I thought I was. And that’s gotta count for something right?” 

“I don’t know. Maybe it does.” The Elder looked down on his pocket watch, wondering where all the time had gone. It was late at night, stars forming high up above, dotting the sky with yellow orbs. He looked at her once again. “Listen, I have to head on inside. I doubt that any of us will get any sleep tonight. This matter still needs to be resolved.” 

“Yeah. I understand. Do you want me to come with you? Maybe I could lend a hand?” Arthur agreed. 

“Yes, that would probably be for the best.” Maxson extended his arm, hooking it in hers in a gentlemanly way. Alice happily complied with his gesture, tagging along into the lair of the beast. 

Inside of the Elder’s quarters, people had once again resorted to screaming incoherently at one another, pointing accusing fingers at everyone and no one at all. It seemed like whenever scarred Elder went away, the mice came out to play. 

“I’m not saying that Priors was the one who coldcocked you, Danse. I’m simply saying that he had a partner.” Arthur let go of her arm, slamming it against the wall to catch everyone’s attention. 

He got it when the room fell silent. 

The Elder stared at each and every one of them with hard eyes. “I thought I told you not to accuse someone without tangible evidence!” No one spoke. “Alright, now what’s the new theory we’re working on?” 

Proctor Quinlan glared at the newly arrived Scribe, but answered the Elder nonetheless. “Ingram theorised that Priors was somehow behind it after all. He might not have been the one that knocked Danse unconscious, but he had to be involved somehow. What profunds me is why the partner didn’t kill the Paladin.” They all looked perplexed at the man. 

“Explain.” Maxson urged. 

“From the scene Danse described, there were dozens of corpses lying around. Why only knock him out? Why not go all the way?” 

Alice understood the Proctor’s angle. “Why not kill Danse like they had with the Railroad? So you think that Nate is working with the Institute?” 

“It fits, doesn’t it? To play oblivious to his son’s whereabouts. He could have just as easily have been contacted by the Institute beforehand, coerced or willingly joined their ranks for the sake of his son, and removed himself from the Brotherhood when all of the information that was needed, was finally gathered. Though others don’t agree…” The British Proctor moved his glasses higher up on his nose and now glared at the Paladin. 

Arthur’s eyes followed. “Why don’t you agree with the theory, Danse?” 

Richard sighed. “Look, I’ve known Nate for awhile now and I don’t believe that this is how he would do things. He’s a soldier into his very core. To work with humanity’s enemy is simply not his style. The way he talks about the betterment of mankind… it just cannot be fabricated. It comes from within his soul.” 

Alice proposed a new theory. “What if the Institute isn’t actually behind this?” They all turned to her, some more confused than the other. “Really think about it. What if it’s not actually the Institute but the Railroad who did this? It’s ingenious!” She exclaimed, finally finding the missing puzzle piece.  

“What are you talking about, Miss Kingsley?” Cade asked, trying to sound polite, albeit failing. 

“Alright, alright. Imagine that you’re the Railroad. You’re down to your last good hiding spot in the Commonwealth, but having hired a mercenary that now has ties to the Brotherhood, you know that the space you know occupy, could be compromised. They gave said mercenary-” She raised her hand as to illustrate a point. “-the way to track them down, should the need arise. Once they figured out that the Brotherhood needed information that they possess, they realized it was only a matter of time before he tracked them down. So, they stage and fake their own deaths, making it seem as if though they perished in a fight against the Institute, when in fact, those corpses were living people. Sprinkle amongst them, discarded gen 1’s and 2’s that they’ve found out in the Commonwealth, and voila… you’ve got yourself a set up with surprise written all over it. No one suspects the dead!” 

Danse shook his head. “That wouldn’t account for all the dust… It was so thick you could barely breath.” 

She cocked an eyebrow. “It’s the catacombs… in a basement. Granted you’ve probably never been in one, but you must at least know that much. Plus, if what you say is true, and there really was that much dust floating around in the air, it would’ve taken years, perhaps even decades, for that amount of skin follicles to accumulate. A person starts decaying the moment they die, but I’m guessing that the bodies you found in the basement looked relatively fresh.” 

The Paladin now saw the logic behind it all, as did most of the people sitting around the table. “So you’re saying that one of the “corpses”, rose from their “grave” and knocked me over the head so hard that I passed out. Only to, what, grab the Knight? What does the Railroad want with Priors?” 

The merc stared into the corner of the room, wondering the exact same thing. “I don’t know… but we have to find out before it’s too late.” 

 

* * *

 

Nate woke up to the thumping in his head driving him inside. The pain caused his vision to blur, and he swore he could  _ smell  _ the color red. Everything was too stuffy, almost to metallic around him. Everything sounded like banging against steel. 

At first, he believed that he might be back aboard the Prydwen, laying down in a hospital bed. But he quickly realized that that wasn’t the case the second the red headed one stepped into his field of vision. 

It was finally becoming clearer, as he now was able to make out details. Brown, gentle eyes staring back into his. The short, cropped hair. The unmistakable smell of cigarette fumes being blown into his face, forcing him to hold back a gag. 

“He’s awake, boss.” Nathan turned to his right, noticing the bald man, idly standing by up until that point. “And hey, what do you know, totally responsive.” 

“Good job, Deacon. You!” She demanded, eyeing the man in front of her. 

Nate now realized the extent of the shitstorm he’d been caught in. He remembered little, only the splitting pain in the back of his head and seeing his friend meet the same fate, before he inevitably blacked out. 

The Knight looked around, trying to take in all the information he could, but while it was light, it was still too dark to see everything. The room was small, that was for sure, and cramped. 

He tried to move more, but realized that something was constricting his movements. Nathan looked down and noticed the cuffs straining his sore wrists. From what the man could gleen, he was sitting in a chair, lamp hanging above his head, in a cell. 

“Fuck.” He finally muttered. “Hurts like hell.” 

The red headed woman ignored him, simply taking yet another drag of her cigarette. Nate look into her eyes once again, this time quite angry. 

“Who the fuck are you?” 

“I’m Desdemona, leader of the Railroad… it seems that you and I have quite a lot to discuss, Mr. Priors.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fuck yeah! Alice was right! I mean, of course she was, this is Alice we’re talking about! And fuck Quinlan. Aaaargh! I just really hate that asshole, you know? Anyways, thank you all so much for your support. I totally love it ;) I’m really sorry that this chapter took so long; I was preparing for a funeral so I’ve been busier than I thought :/ Hopefully, I’ll have chapter 13 out by the end of next week ^^ Make sure that you drop a kudos and a comment, I really love reading those =) Until next time, JA NE!


	13. Home in the shadows

**_Previously:_ **

 

**_The Knight looked around, trying to take in all the information he could, but while it was light, it was still too dark to see everything. The room was small, that was for sure, and cramped._ **

 

**_He tried to move more, but realized that something was constricting his movements. Nathan looked down and noticed the cuffs straining his sore wrists. From what the man could gleen, he was sitting in a chair, lamp hanging above his head, in a cell._ **

 

**_“Fuck.” He finally muttered. “Hurts like hell.”_ **

 

**_The red headed woman ignored him, simply taking yet another drag of her cigarette. Nate look into her eyes once again, this time quite angry._ **

 

**_“Who the fuck are you?”_ **

 

**_“I’m Desdemona, leader of the Railroad… it seems that you and I have quite a lot to discuss, Mr. Priors.”_ **

 

**_And now:  
  
_**

Nate took a deep breath and coughed loudly enough for it to assault his sensitive ears with massive force. Every inhale felt like a thousand little plaster shards cutting the flesh in his hollow lungs, tearing everything to pieces. 

He leaned forward in an attempt at relieving some of the pressure, but failed when the pain once again came raking through his body like a monsoon. It didn’t help when Desdemona leaned down next to him, and blew smoke straight into his face. His eyes quickly watered, and the coughing continued fiercer than ever. 

“Fuck you.” He managed to croak out in between each raspy choke. 

She just chuckled at his misfortune. “It seems like we’ve caught ourselves a live one.” The others present in the room, who had done little up to this point, started laughing with the woman. Nate cursed again. 

“Go fuck yourself, you crazy bitch!” 

She chuckled again. “You’re in no position to make any demands right now.” She got up and started pacing in front of his chair. “In fact, Mr. Priors, I want to make one thing absolutely clear-” 

Like a sudden whirlwind, she’d grabbed his aching shoulder with her daggers for nails, and pushed him back with a surprising force. “I’m in charge here, which means that you follow what I say, to-the-letter.” 

He stared back at Desdemona with the intensity of a thousand suns, burning brighter than hell fire. She wasn’t buying his menacing unspoken threat, mainly because he didn’t really seem that threatening sitting there - broken in a chair. 

Nate gave in, averting his gaze. The strawberry blonde smirked at his display of submission, letting him go from her tight grasp. 

“I’m sure that you’re wondering why we brought you here.” 

Nate shrugged. “I don’t really know where here is, so not really.” 

Desdemona shook her head, smiled and inhaled some more poisonous fumes. “I’m not falling for you tricks, Mr. Priors. I wasn’t born yesterday… then again, neither were you.” 

“Cut the crap. Just tell me what you want from me.” 

“Very well. It’s quite simple really.” She paused. “You came to find us to gather information on a man named Kellogg. I’m guessing you need him in order to find a way into the Institute. Only problem-” 

He cut her off. “The fucker is dead.” 

She chuckled once again. “He is indeed. Thanks to Alice.” Desdemona turned to the bald man with sunglasses, extending her open palm. In it, he placed a holotape. “This is all of the data we’ve compiled on Kellogg and his involvement with the Institute. It’s not much, if I’m being honest. Mostly logs on his whereabouts over the years.” She then received a second holotape. “This is what we’ve gathered on an Institute spy working within the Brotherhood’s top brass. If our estimations are correct, he’ll have contacted someone within the Brotherhood to ultimately track the Railroad down - and end us.” 

Nate was starting to understand what Desdemona needed him for. “So you need me to track him down?” 

“No need… we already know his identity - or rather, strongly suspect who he might be. So what I need you to do is-” He cut her off. 

“You need me to either eliminate him as a threat, or capture him and bring him to you.” 

She shook her head again. “No… Institute spies are like radroaches. Kill one and another one of them shows up to take their place. I want you to find who the spy is working with, apprehend them and bring them to justice. Keep in mind though, that this person will be hidden in plain sight… you never know just who it might be…” 

 

**_Aboard the Prydwen_ **

 

Alice sighed again, sipping on some nuka cherry that she’d found while raiding the fridge in the mess hall. It had been two days since Nathan had been kidnapped, and all signs pointed to it being the Railroad. But thus far, no additional evidence had been found to support that claim.

She rubbed her sore temples and leaned back, enjoying the Commonwealth sun; despite the feeling of absolute dread looming over her head. Like so many other times, Alice was sitting on the Prydwen’s Forecastle, listening to music, all the while trying to figure out where the Railroad might be hiding.

The Brotherhood had been over the Old North Church with a fine comb, but were greatly disappointed when it yielded little new evidence. Though Paladin Danse’s testimony on the incident seemed to have been entirely correct. Since his name had been cleared, and the headaches had ceased, he’d been allowed back on the force, thanking the Gods above.

If there was one thing that was more hazardous to the Paladin’s recovery, it was certainly boredom. Alice took another sip, sighing deeply in content. The warm sun shone down on her pale face, granting just a little bit of the much needed D-vitamins. Suddenly, the door clicked and out into the sun - stepped the young Elder.

While those two statements contradicted themselves on some level - it seemed accurate enough. Arthur was young, if one was to trust the records; but his eyes screamed exhaustion that could only have been accumulated over endless years lacking sleep. Alice chuckled.

“So you finally decided to show up? What can I do for you, Maxson?” She asked coyly. Arthur grabbed a cigarette from his pack and offered her one; sitting down next to the mercenary.

“Nothing really. Came up here to get away from the paperwork.” The man lit his cigarette, holding the open flame under hers as well. She cringed at the taste of Nuka Cherry mixed with the taste of smoke, but pushed the disgust away.

“Guess there must be a lot of it, huh?”

“That’s an understatement.” He replied, rubbing his tired eyes. “Some of it’s easy enough to get through, but eventually everyone needs a break.” She nodded, not exactly paying attention to the man and his words.

“That’s true. Any leads on Nate’s whereabouts?” Arthur shook his head.

“No… I’m beginning to wonder whether or not the Railroad intend on letting him leave with his life.” Alice knew that that may very well be the case, but she still dreaded it. She’d only met the mysterious organisation once, and that had been on the flooded streets of Goodneighbor in the middle of the day. To go searching for them would prove monumentally more difficult when they didn’t actually know where to begin. She basked in the sun, letting her skin soak up as much energy as possible.

“That’s a possibility. I feel bad for giving him that information.” She finally admitted, actually surprised to find herself feeling guilty. It was strange to say the least.

Maxson shook his head. “This isn’t your fault, Kingsley. With or without you; Priors would have gone after the Railroad. He would have pursued every possible lead, no matter how bizarre. He wanted to go into the Glowing Sea on nothing more than a whim…” Alice cocked one of her perfectly groomed eyebrows.

“Why?”

“He thought that an ex-scientist named Virgil was hiding out there.” She suddenly remembered what they had been arguing about on the Command Deck that day; before she’d given Nate the information.

“Right.” She replied, recalling the argument that had sparked the whole thing. “So why not go there? Into the Glowing Sea?” Alice cautiously asked.

Arthur blew out some smoke. “Because I don’t trust the word of that synth. To send someone out into the most dangerous place in Boston, just because the self proclaimed detective thinks that it’s a promising lead. I can’t risk my men’s life on a whim.” He repeated his words again, finding it hard to come up with a new explanation.

Alice shrugged. “I dunno… it seems pretty solid if you ask me.”

“I wasn’t.” He retorted dryly.

“Fine. But Nate did offer to go in alone. So why not let him?”

“Why indeed…” He muttered out in reply.  

They sat in silence, the Elder all of a sudden upset. For once, it would feel nice to have at least someone that agreed with him. Even his most trusted Paladin had turned against him once Nathan had introduced him to Valentine.

The merc finished her cigarette, throwing the butt of the ship; into the ocean below. She rose suddenly, prepared to end the conversation and head back into the ship. He didn’t know why he dreaded that all of a sudden, but he did.

Before she left however, she turned back. “For what it’s worth, I think that your suspicions are somewhat justified. But I just want you to know that Nick is a really great man. Even if it isn’t the same flesh and blood as before, it’s still the Nick Valentine that I used to know. Keep that in mind, Arthur.” She spun around, retreating before he could reply.

Perhaps it was for the best, he decided.

 

* * *

 

Two more days passed, not so much as a whisper in the Commonwealth on where the Knight may be kept captive. Two more days added to his absence. Eventually, Arthur caved. Alice was right. Valentine had no reason to help the Railroad kidnap its former partner.

So with an admittance of defeat, the Elder approached the cybernetic man with questions.

“Valentine!” He called out for the synth, who replied with a short ‘yes’. “Follow me.” Was all he said, ushering the abomination to tread behind him. It did as it was told, following him close behind like a lost puppy behind its master.

When they’d escaped the prying eyes of the crew, Arthur stopped. He turned to the synth, exhibiting a look of disapproval.

“I want you to know, that the only reason that I’m speaking to you; is because I’ve run out of viable options.” Nick muttered something under his breath, which Maxson ignored. There was no need to spark an argument right now. “Tell me about what you heard that day. While you were tailing Kellogg.” He urged the cybernetic man to speak.

“As I told you on the Command Deck, I heard him speak to a courser about Virgil’s retrieval. If you’d allow me to head back to Diamond City, I could sniff out some proof.” Arthur shook his head, indicating a hard no.

If the synth were to return, Maxson doubted that he’d come back to the Brotherhood willingly. Nick sighed in exasperation.

“Not even if I were to bring someone along?” Normally, Valentine would have brought Priors, but since he was gone… well… he’d have to make due with whoever Maxson could spare.

Arthur thought for awhile, the cogs in his head spinning furiously. Ultimately, Nick won. “Very well. I’ll assign Scribe Kingsley and Paladin Danse to escort you back to the city. You’ll be permitted to take a Vertibird. But the second you’re done, you return here. Am I making myself clear?” He stared the synth down.

“Crystal, sir.” Nick replied. Maxson nodded.

“Good. Now get to it. Priors could be in danger as we speak.”

 

* * *

 

Nathan Priors had very seldom slept in a chair. The first time; he had been just five years old, falling asleep by the kitchen table as breakfast was served. The second time had been quite by accident. The paperwork had been stacking up neatly on his desk for days. Nate had been meaning to get to it sooner rather than later, but life got in the way when his poor father had passed away at the tender age of forty. His mother, Elizabeth, was beside herself with grief; so of course, a young Nate had had to stay at her place - making sure that she slept, ate and grieved in whatever extension she could. Out of sheer exhaustion, he’d dozed off while his boss had been lecturing Nate on his mistakes. Needless to say, Priors was fired on the spot.

The third, and last time before today, he’d been living at a friend’s house in the city. They’d been playing poker, and a slightly inebriated Mr. Priors had trouble staying awake. The man had fallen asleep before he could even close his eyes. He’d woken up the next morning to the smell of coffee brewing and a terrible ache in his neck.

Of course, nothing compared to this one. Being tied to the chair at an uncomfortable angle, with his head slumping to the side. Truth be told, Nate had barely slept at all. The strange sounds, the constant flickering of the lightbulb up above and the smell of chemicals had all but taken over his senses. Every time he tried to get some shuteye, someone had burst through the door with a mean looking face; making sure that their prisoner was still in binds.

Nate sighed in exasperation, wanting nothing more than to sleep at that moment. But that just wasn’t gonna happen while being held captive like this. He didn’t even know how much time had passed since he’d been brought to the tiny four by four room. Could be a few hours, a few days… or weeks.

Like stated - he just didn’t know.

Desdemona showed no signs of letting him walk after all. Maybe because Nate had outright refused to take on her mission. The Knight had no intention on spying on his fellow soldiers for information that might not even be on the tape they’d offered him in return. There was no tangible proof supporting their claim that the Railroad knew where the Institute was located. Nathan wasn’t going to risk execution and treason on the word of a madwoman.

Every one of his thoughts wandered to Alice, wondering what she might be up to. Maybe she was happy that he was gone? He had threatened to kill her after all. He couldn’t help but to feel a little bit ashamed of his reaction the other… day? The minutes seemed to stretch on forever and his captors had not graced him by putting up a clock in the room.

All Nate could do - was give in.

 

* * *

 

“Thanks for the lift, Howard.” Danse yelled over the roaring sound of the Vertibird blades. The Lancer replied with a quick “you’re welcome”, before preparing once again for takeoff. The thrust was powerful, sending the small metal vehicle high into the air; returning to the mothership. Nick dusted off his coat, setting full pace ahead for the wall.

Howard had dropped them off at Fence Street Sewer, a place Alice had cleared a few months ago. Danse cringed at her stories surrounding the madman that had once called it his home. She’d described the scenery down there as, “a bloody nightmare taken from              House on Haunted Hill”; whatever that was. He assumed that it was either a book or a movie, but which - he couldn’t figure out.

Alice was giddily skipping beside him, swaying her arms with every jump. Had the situation been a little less dire, the Paladin would have thought it looked just a tad bit cute. But the situation _was_ dire, with Knight Prior’s life in danger.

They were met at the gate of the city by the mayor himself, trying to stir up trouble with the “detective”. Danse thought it ridiculous that the synth actually believed that it was alive, but dropped the issue for the sake of the mission.

After some well placed verbal jabs, the mayor scurried off into the city; declaring that he didn’t want any trouble from the Brotherhood of Steel. Alice had smirked under the mask, pleased by his apparent fear of the militia. Danse had watched her eyes go from empty and aloof to completely berserk; all within a few seconds.

They left behind the gate guard, who was watching them intently, and headed inside. In all his years, the Paladin had never seen such a well maintained city. Sure, there was Rivet City and Megatown back in the Capital Wasteland, but none quite compared to Diamond City.

The trees here actually had leaves adorning the branches; glowing in a bright green. While he’d grown up in Rivet City - If one could even call the old aircraft hanger a city - he couldn’t help but wonder what life had been like, had he grown up in Boston instead.

He pushed the thought out of his mind, focusing on their objective for the time being. They strolled past the marketplace, only occasionally throwing a glance at the wares being sold. Danse made a mental note to inform Teagan of the necessities these people had to bargain with. He passed by a woman Alice informed him was named Ann Codman; an unpleasantly snooty inhabitant of the great green jewel, living in the upper stands.

“Hello Arturo. ‘Sup?” Alice called out, halfway to their destination. The man, Arturo, looked to be in his early thirties with a thick Mexican accent and a stall full of firearms. He inspected a laser pistol, picking it up to see if the balance was to his liking.

The dealer smiled warmly. “Alice? I’ve never seen you out of the hood. I’m doing great.” He paused, watching the Paladin closely. “And you?”

She shrugged. “Can’t really complain. Has Leonard sent over anymore arrows?” The man behind the counter nodded and disappeared into the back room, which probably also doubled down as his house; and exited a few moments later.

He placed the ammunition on the countertop, unveiling them for the merc to inspect. “Fifty-five, just like you requested. Leonard is coming by in a few days to pick up the pay.” Alice hauled over a big bag filled with caps, still gazing at the arrows in hand; looking for imperfections. She was pleased when there were none and placed them back with the rest of the bunch.

Danse was still testing out the grip of the pistol, completely in his own world. “How much for this?” The Paladin eventually asked. Arturo took a long good look at the soldier, shaking his head.

“You keep it. The trigger is a little bit sticky; too stuck to be able to sell. I don’t have the time to fix it up…” He finished. The brown-eyed Paladin thanked the man, vowing to at least buy some ammo in turn. He ended up with a hundred and fourteen rounds for the new weapon, forking over a surprisingly small amount of caps. It seems that business was good enough to reduce prices for the Brotherhood.

Danse offered the man a steady relationship with the Brotherhood of Steel, asking if he was interested in selling to the milita. Arturo had very politely turned him down, saying that he wished to have to part in the war. He claimed that selling protection was one thing - and selling firearms was a completely other.

The Paladin didn’t understand it at the time, but the more he thought about it; the more it made sense. If the Brotherhood ultimately lost, the business owner wanted to part in it. Danse replied with a small “shame” muttered under his breath and followed the synth and the Scribe into the detective agency.

The door was almost too small to fit him through, clad in full power armor, but after some twisting and turning - Danse eventually made it through. They stood before the desk, waiting for Ellie to come running down the stairs. She appeared a few moments later; standing before them with glittering eyes, filled with tears. The detective’s assistant embraced the synth, holding Nick close.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m still alive, doll.” Ellie let go of her boss, standing back. “So how have things been here?” The woman wiped her eyes free of tears, smiling warmly.

“Strangely quiet lately. Not many people have been by and when they have, I’ve managed to solve their problems to the best of my abilities. How have you been?” Nick shrugged, lighting a cigarette.

“Actually not bad. For all their faults, the Brotherhood has taken care of me.” He paused, watching the Paladin glare in disapproval. “Look, I’d really love to chat, doll, but we have more pressing matters. I need to get into Kellogg’s house again. I left the key here last time. Do you still have it?” He asked, watching his assistant rummage through some drawers before finally finding the requested item.

Valentine balanced it in the palm of his hand, nodding to the woman. Ellie wanted to catch up some more, but Danse informed the woman that time was of the utmost importance. With a sad smile, she nodded in understanding.

The three exited, Alice surprisingly quiet through the whole ordeal. They carefully treaded up the stairs to the house, the Paladin holding his gun raised high. In case something decided to jump them, he wanted to be prepared; which might seem utterly ridiculous. Diamond City was a secure settlement, the wall guarding the residents extensively.

As far as Quinlan had managed to deduce, it was safe from anything; save an aerial attack. Nick put the key in the lock, listening as the tumblers turn. The synth stepped inside first, treading carefully on the floor clouded in dust from months of neglect.

“Alright, seems secure enough. No one’s been here since I snooped around last time. Look for anything that might-” Alice cut him off by waving a folder in his face.

“Something like this?” The synth raised a brow. “What? It was on the desk… in plain sight, I might add. Can’t believe you missed it when you were here the first time.” Valentine grabbed the folder from the woman, quickly flipping through the pages.

“We weren’t looking for something like this the last time we were here. At that point, we were looking for proof where Kellogg might have gone - not where he’d been.” Danse got fed up with waiting and yanked the papers out of Nick’s metal hand. The synth frowned in disapproval. “You could have asked.”

The Paladin didn’t reply, instead he went about trying to memorize as much as possible in case the file was lost on their way back. All too many missions had been sabotaged lately and the chances of this being planted evidence; was sky high.

After all, if the “detective” hadn’t found it on the first try, the most rational explanation was that it had been planted after the synth had been there the first time. But Nick swore that it was legitimate, despite having no tangible proof to back up his statement.

Once finished, Danse closed the folder in a haste; glaring at the others. “Alright… this is the proof we need. Let’s hightail it back to the Prydwen and show this to Maxson.” They left the house, heading for the sewers; hopes set high.

But Alice couldn’t help feeling that they were in imminent danger.

 

* * *

 

From the shadows, a woman clad in a simple black cloak, watched the two people and the synth dashed out of the city. She smirked to herself, phase two finally being instigated. Night quickly fell, and the woman walked out into the moonlight, heading for the upper stands.

The door wasn’t hard to pick, but avoiding the guards on patrol proved a little more challenging. Though the whole point of it was to be seen, even just a little bit. The blonde woman was sleeping in her bed, unaware that the assassin was creeping in the corner; waiting for the time to strike.

The shadow raised her bow, aiming for the sleeping woman’s head; firing it off. The blonde died instantly, not even letting out a single sound in despair. Her husband was still sleeping soundly; oblivious to what had just happened.

With the contract finished, the woman slipped into the cold night air; making sure that a guard recognized the cloak and bow, before walking straight out the front gate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wtf? Right? 
> 
> No, I’m not dead - just very lazy XD. Also, thanks to some personal issues, writing has been put on the backburner for now (Cue sadface), but I’ll make sure to update as soon as possible; even if it means the chapters being un-beta’d. But hey; I can always go back and fix that. 
> 
> It took me a couple of weeks to finish this chapter, but now that it’s done - I feel so relieved! TT^TT. Usually when I have the energy, I can write one [sometimes even two], chapter(s) per day. I just wanted to say thank you to all of you who read and left a kudos. Special thanks to those who commented ;) You’re all golden, my peeps. Until next time, JA NE!


	14. The cloak and bow problem.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More moments between the two doves, and an unexpected visitor that might fuck it all up. Just a normal day in the life of Alice.

**_Previously:_ **

 

**_From the shadows, a woman clad in a simple black cloak, watched the two people and the synth dashed out of the city. She smirked to herself, phase two finally being instigated. Night quickly fell, and the woman walked out into the moonlight, heading for the upper stands._ **

 

**_The door wasn’t hard to pick, but avoiding the guards on patrol proved a little more challenging. Though the whole point of it was to be seen, even just a little bit. The blonde woman was sleeping in her bed, unaware that the assassin was creeping in the corner; waiting for the time to strike._ **

 

**_The shadow raised her bow, aiming for the sleeping woman’s head; firing it off. The blonde died instantly, not even letting out a single sound in despair. Her husband was still sleeping soundly; oblivious to what had just happened._ **

 

**_With the contract finished, the woman slipped into the cold night air; making sure that a guard recognized the cloak and bow, before walking straight out the front gate._ **

 

**_And now:_ **

 

Alice counted the minutes until she could finally finish this blasted operation and head back to the ship for some much needed rest. Yesterday had been a hectic day with several people getting on her case.. He’d looked over the file, deciding that when Priors was ultimately brought back, the Knight would finally get what he’d requested for so long.

_ A mission into the Glowing Sea.  _

Luckily, Arthur had started preparing for a new crisis meeting come Monday morning. The protocol stated that if Nathan hadn’t returned by then, they would launch a full scale search for the young Knight. Normally, it would be completely out of question; seeing as how one life didn’t matter in the grand scheme - but this was an unusual case. 

Not only was Nate the only one willing to go blind into the Institute, but he was also the only one who had valuable connections all over the Commonwealth. No one knew the city better than Priors, part of the reason why Maxson had blindly accepted him into the folds. 

At least Arthur had told her such while sharing a meal with the Scribe. During the time that Nathan had been gone, Alice and the Elder had gotten closer than ever. It felt good to at least have one person that she could converse with, without the constant need to keep up a filter. But it only sped up the process of getting rid of the Brotherhood, once and for all. Alice felt slightly bad for them all, having some slight doubts when it came to the Institute’s leniency towards the children aboard the aircraft. 

She didn’t dare push her luck with them, afraid that she might step too far; right onto their toes. So she kept stum, watching the Knight-Captain before her. His hands expertly sewed into the patient’s heart, holding on tightly to the muscle. 

He continued speaking, Alice listening for once. “This suture is called the cardiac suture. You have studied the textbooks I provided you with, correct?” He asked, not taking his eyes off the patient’s heart. 

Alice nodded. “Yeah, I’ve read through them all. Did you want to have a pop quiz or something?” She joked, expecting a ‘no’, but instead received a ‘yes’.  

“What’s the proper name for a heart in latin?” 

“Cor, hence the word Coeur in French. Come on, give me a harder one, doc.” He smirked underneath the mask. 

“Alright. Explain to me a standard appendectomy, start to finish.” Alice sighed in exasperation, and cocked an eyebrow at his question. 

“Make an incision over McBurney’s point, extend with scissors, locate the appendix, clamp the base, dev-” He waved into the air, stopping her from finishing her thoughts.

“Correct you are, Miss Kingsley. It seems that you not only have read the books, but also understand their meaning. Now, can you tell me who invented penicillin?” At this, the young merc laughed loudly. “What’s so funny, Scribe?” He asked in an annoyed tone. 

“You’re kidding, right?” She asked, but noticed no signs of it being a joke. “That’s something you learn in grade school.” He raised his brows in surprise. 

“Huh… pre-war education was pretty extensive, it seems.” He continued poking around, finishing another two stitches before she answered with a smile, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. They’d been standing around for nine hours without so much as a break, and Alice was starting to feel the effects. 

Nevertheless, she smirked. “Anton Fleming. The first polio vaccine was made by Jonas Salk. The first trial for insulin was performed on dogs by Banting who later asked the help of a man named J.J.R. Macleod. Together, they won the Nobel Prize in Physiology, in 1923; a few years before the second World War. The first-” Cade chuckled. 

“I see your point, Miss Kingsley. You were well versed in medicine before the Great War started.” She shook her head. 

“Not really, but our education afforded us some leeway when it came to picking subjects to write about in essays. I always chose the medical field for some reason. I’ve always found it fascinating.” 

“Surgical or psychological studies?” He asked curtly. 

“Surgical. I couldn’t understand psychology for the life of me.” She replied, watching the man finish the operation. He humphed in disbelief. 

“Well, it’s not my business to pry into the inner workings of your brain.” Alice snorted. 

“Except it sorta is. You’re going to be disappointed though… you won’t find much in there that makes sense. Take right now for an instance… I bet you can’t guess what I’m thinking.” He guessed a few times until she finally replied with the correct answer. “Rhubarbs.” He cocked a brow. “I always loved rhubarbs. It’s a shame that they’re gone.” He nodded, focusing on the last stages before asking the nurses to wheel the unconscious man into the ICU. 

“I see. How did you come to think of that?” She shrugged. 

“I was thinking how lovely the weather is today, which morphed into the feeling of getting stung, which later became the thought of how a beehive works, onto a hot summer’s day and finally landing on eating rhubarb stems coated in fresh sugar. It just skips around widely up there.” He came to a conclusion. 

“ADHD.” She snorted again, removing the gloves and dumping them into the bin. 

“Tell me something I don’t know, doc. I’ve been slapped with so many diagnoses over the years that I stopped counting.” Cade smiled in understanding, removing his own surgical protection. 

“It’s understandable. So were you ever prescribed something for-” Alice placed her hands on her hips, cocking them to the side. 

“You mean like amphetamines? Yeah, I got a lot of those over the years. Made me so fucked up that I had to stop taking them. In all honesty, I kinda sold them to friends instead of taking them in the end.” 

“Dealing chems? Why am I not surprised.” The doctor muttered under his breath, leading the woman towards the platform, finally ready to do the accompanying paperwork associated with his profession. Some had stacked up; making it impossible to ignore any longer. 

Alice shrugged. “Better than taking them, I suppose.” The merc replied with a sweet smile. Despite her apparent madness, Scribe Kingsley was actually quite pleasant to work with; once her attitude problem had been dealt with. He came to the conclusion that Maxson must have had a talk with the young woman at some point, something which pleased the doctor. 

Not only was she more courteous to the people around her - she was also quite the fast learner; making her an excellent student. They reached the platform, only to witness the Elder hop out with a middle aged man in tow. Someone that Cade hadn’t met yet, which was odd. 

But it was someone that Alice knew well at this point. 

There was no mistaking that mug for anyone else. She frowned when the two approached the merc and the doctor, grim expressions plastered on their faces. Funny, they almost had an identical amount of anger bubbling under the surface. 

“Mayor McDonough… to what do we owe this displeasure?” She greeted dryly, not wanting to spend more time in the man’s company than she had to. The mayor simply stared at her in a venomous way. 

He cleared his throat. “At exactly five a.m this morning, Clarence Codman found his wife, Ann, dead in their quarters. She’d been killed in her sleep late that night.” Alice remembered the man to which the mayor was referring. A slimy bastard with way too much money in the bank and degrading looks in an abundance. 

Alice shrugged. “So? It’s tragic, but I don’t see why you’re here.” 

He eyed the Elder quickly, quietly asking for permission to proceed. Arthur nodded in conformation. “The guard on duty outside of the Codman house spotted a mysterious stranger exit the city that night, carrying a bow and a quiver filled with arrows.” Her eyes widened. So that’s why he was here, she thought. 

“If you think that I had anything to do with this-” She was cut off by his hard glare. 

“I think you have  _ everything  _ to do with this, Miss Kingsley.” Alice cursed towards the Elder under her breath for sharing her real last name. The last thing she needed right now was some sleazy politician having some sort of hold over her. “Paladin Danse, Elder Maxson and even Nick Valentine inform me that you were in Diamond City that very day, investigating Kellogg’s resident.” 

She snorted. “Yeah, I was there during  _ the day _ . I was here, aboard the Prydwen, later that evening.” The mayor gritted his teeth. 

“Elder Maxson has informed me such. Said you two were playing cards during that time.” Alice eyed the Elder who exhibited no signs of distress. 

“No…” She replied. “We weren’t playing cards.” Maxson visibly relaxed at her words, which lead her to believe that it had been a scheme from McDonough’s part. Probably to collaborate the story, without actually giving away Arthur’s account of it all. 

“Really, then what were you doing?” He finally asked. 

Alice raised her chin, towering the man. “First of all, I’m not very keen on these accusations, Mister McDonough. Secondly, what Maxson and I do behind closed doors; is none of your concern. Our actions are our own. And the reason for keeping things quiet is our choice. Now, since I have a witness placing me on the Prydwen at the time of the murder, I’d start looking into alternative culprits. Best I understand it, I have a copycat trying to sabotage my life.” She stopped herself from screaming out insults, and instead took a deep breath. “Now if you excuse me, I have to get some sleep. I’ve been in surgery for the past nine hours and I’m dying for some shuteye. I bid you a farewell, Mayor McDonough and wish you a safe journey back to the city.” 

Alice didn’t bother looking back as she got on the Vertibird that took her up to the giant castle in the sky. 

 

* * *

 

“Miss Kingsley?” Someone ushered carefully. Alice grunted in response, angry at the rude awakening. 

“No… it’s the easter bunny. Didn’t you notice the eggs falling out of my ass?” She sarcastically replied. The person on the other end grew eerily quiet. Alice’s head whipped up, relaxing when she noticed a small Scribe looming over her bunk. “What the fuck do you want, Scribe Gallum?” 

The other woman blushed furiously, somewhat weary of the other Scribe. “I’ve been requested to come fetch you. Elder Maxson would like a word regarding this afternoon’s proceedings.” The blonde merc grunted in annoyance. 

“Can’t it wait? I’ve been in surgery since seven this morning and I’d really like to just sleep my pain away.” Her back cracked as she spun around; away from the other woman. But she wasn’t leaving, which made Alice even more annoyed. 

“I’m really sorry to disturb you, Scribe, but the Elder says that it’s urgent.” The merc gave in; sighing deeply, before pushing away the covers. She’d bothered to change into her standard sleeping attire at least. A simple white wifebeater with short, sky blue shorts to accompany it. 

She rose, dismissed the other woman and wrapped herself up in some blankets. There was no point in changing back into her uniform since she intended on leaving his quarters in five minutes, flat. 

The cold floor bit angrily into her bare feet, sending shivers up her spine. Perhaps she should have at least put on some socks. Alice cautiously knocked on the door to his room, waiting for his reply. 

“Come in.” He said, tone laced with clear contempt. She opened the door, stepping inside; wrapped in the comforting fabric like a cloak. “Have a seat, Scribe.” 

_ Oh no… Scribe…  _

He never referred to her as ‘Scribe’ or ‘Scribe Kingsley’ anymore. Nowadays, it was only ‘Kingsley’ or on some rare occasions ‘Alice’. She grunted again, cursing her tired vocal cords. 

The woman did as instructed and planted herself firmly on one of the chairs surrounding the table. He didn’t offer her a drink, which he usually did when she was in his quarters. There was an awkward pause, filled with some uncomfortable staring, before he averted his gaze; looking into his mug filled with tea, and spoke. 

“Scribe, I-” 

“Look, if this is about the ‘behind closed doors’ comment, I apologize. It won’t happen again, Elder.” Arthur shook his head. 

“No… it’s not entirely about that. I just want you to answer one simple question. You and I both know that you weren’t in here yesterday night.” Alice shrugged and raised her brows, all the while shaking her head. 

“So?” He grew enraged at her reply. 

“ _ So?  _ Is that all you have to say in your defence?  _ So? _ ” He dragged his massive palm through his hair, ruffling it slightly. “Do you have any idea how much trouble you could potentially have been in, had I not lied for you?” 

Alice snorted, actually  _ snorted _ at his words. “Do you want a ‘thank you’? You didn’t have to lie, you know? I could have cleared my name some other way.” The woman muttered. Arthur looked as if though he wanted to say something, but stopped himself in the last possible moment; avoiding further arguments. 

“No, I just want you to answer one question.” She nodded, urging him to continue. “Did you do it?” 

“What the fuck kind of question is that?” 

“Answer me honestly, Alice. Did - you - kill - Missus - Codman?” He paused between each word for effect, hoping to get through to the woman in front of him. She sighed in defeat. 

“No, Maxson… I did not. I was here all night, sound asleep in my bunk. If I was going to kill Ann, I certainly wouldn’t have done it last night.” He managed to both raise his brows higher and frown, all at the same time. 

“I was hoping that you would stop at ‘sound asleep in my bunk’.” Alice chuckled; unamused. 

“I’m simply posing a scenario. Why would I kill her the night before a big surgery, one which Cade asked me to  _ assist  _ him with. To be able to actually cut flesh and stitch someone back together takes an incredible amount of focus, not to mention the energy. Tell me, if I  _ had  _ killed her, wouldn’t I have woken up tired this morning?” Arthur nodded reluctantly. “You had breakfast with me. Say, did I look exhausted to you?” 

“No… no you didn’t. However-” 

“No ‘however’, Elder. Besides, how would I have gotten there and back to the airport before sunrise? Danse clearly saw me at supper last night; at ten o’clock. For me to have  _ walked  _ all the way to Diamond City, kill Ann, and make it back to the Prydwen before sunrise; is nigh on impossible. I’ve tried once before.” He quickly became confused. 

“You mean that you’ve tried to murder Ann Codman once before, or you’ve tried walking from-” She leaned over the table, extended her palm and playfully slapped his arm. Arthur sighed, realizing that the question had been stupid. “Alright, I get it. You tried walking from Diamond City to the airport in the middle of the night… and you didn’t make it until sunrise. You could have just as easily persuaded a Lancer to drop you off and pick you up. After all, that’s how you got to and from the city yesterday; when you were with Danse and the synth. You certainly are persuasive enough to convince Howard to do so. You could have given a false sob story on how you needed to visit a sick friend or something along those lines.” Alice sniggered at his observational comments. 

“Not really, though. First of all, I have very little  _ friends  _ in the city. Secondly, any and all Lancers requesting to loan a Vertibird must go through either the Captain or the Elder in order to even take it from the loading dock. So, with that in mind, did Howard ask to pilot one to Diamond City yesterday evening slash night?” She retorted proudly, big smirk plastered on her face. 

Arthur tugged on the corners of his mouth, giving something that could have easily been mistaken for a smile. “No… he did not. And you’re correct. It isn’t possible for Lancers to simply grab a Vertibird and disappear for a good long hour without anyone so much as reporting the ‘bird as missing.” Alice leaned back, pleased at her efforts to convince the young Elder of her innocence. Though it seemed that she wasn’t out of the woods just yet. “However, that still doesn’t absolve you of the guilt. Maynor McDonough has personally requested your head on a spike. Said something about how you’ve eluded him once before. Dare I ask what that was about?” Maxson cautiously stepped around the words, afraid to walk into an area he wasn’t welcomed. 

Alice just shrugged. “Ass-hat’s got some sort of personal vendetta against me. He’s on some sort of witch hunt, just because he listens to shit rumors all the time.” Arthur silently urged her to continue by tipping his head to the side. Eventually, she sighed; admitting defeat. “Alright, I’m gonna level with you here… I wasn’t completely blameless in that bitch of a situation, but I certainly wasn’t to blame for it  _ all _ . Vadim and Yefim convinced me to help a friend in need. Travis… and it just sort of got out of control.” 

“Vadim and Yefim?” He didn’t know the names. 

“They own the Dugout inn, in Diamond City. They’re brothers. Travis runs the radio show. He’s always been an awkward kid… I really don’t want to get into how it all happened, but it ended in a bad way.” 

“Bad how?” 

She huffed out an unamused laugh again, mostly in annoyance. “Why do you care, huh? This was long before I joined the Brotherhood. Look, we all have a past that we’d rather not share with others. Those failures are my own and I’d rather they  _ remain in the past _ . I don’t wanna go digging up dinosaurs just because someone spots a bone in the sand.” He wasn’t familiar with the expression, but could somewhat understand what she meant. 

She was basically politely, in her own wicked way, asking him to let it go. 

Maxson could agree upon the terms. “As you wish, Miss Kingsley. I’m not going to pry… but I don’t want to see this come back and… and-” He was at a loss for words. 

“Bite us in the ass?” The merc tried. 

He nodded. “Not what I was going for, but that’s about the size of it, yes. The way I’ve understood things, it already has.” It was her turn to nod. 

“Yeah… I’m sorry, I really am… but I can’t change what happened months ago just because it’s an inconvenience now. I’ll let you continue your investigations best you want, but I’m telling you that ruffling the feathers of a bald bird will get you nowhere.” 

He chuckled, surprised that he found her expressions somewhat amusing. “I understand. You’ve recounted your version of the evening. You still maintain your innocence?” 

“Abso-fucking-lutely.” She replied, glad to finally have the man off her case and back to doing something productive with the rest of the day… 

Like sleep until tomorrow. 

“Now, if you excuse me-” Alice was just about to get out of her seat when the Elder waved her down again. 

“Sit down, Alice… we still have more things to discuss.” She both sighed, and grunted at the same time; giving off the vibe that she’d rather be anywhere but here. It jabbed him slightly in the heart, knowing that the woman didn’t want to hold a longer conversation with him, but understood the tiredness. 

Nevertheless, this was a conversation that couldn’t be postponed. “What now?” She grumpily asked. 

“I need you to get in touch with someone…” He paused, letting her take the lead on the conversation. 

“Who?” 

“Piper Wright… it seems that she knows more than she lets on.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bum, bum - nah fuck that XD I mean, of course Pipes knows more than she lets on! She’s a reporter, duh! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, leave a comment and a kudos if you did and I’ll see you in the next chapter [which should be out in a few days]. Until next time, JA NE!


	15. When everyone's MIA...

**_Previously:_ **

 

**_“I understand. You’ve recounted your version of the evening. You still maintain your innocence?”_ **

 

**_“Abso-fucking-lutely.” She replied, glad to finally have the man off her case and back to doing something productive with the rest of the day…_ **

 

**_Like sleep until tomorrow._ **

 

**_“Now, if you excuse me-” Alice was just about to get out of her seat when the Elder waved her down again._ **

 

**_“Sit down, Alice… we still have more things to discuss.” She both sighed, moaned and grunted at the same time; giving off the vibe that she’d rather be anywhere but here. It jabbed him slightly in the heart, knowing that the woman didn’t want to hold a longer conversation with him, but understood the tiredness._ **

 

**_Nevertheless, this was a conversation that couldn’t be postponed. “What now?” She grumpily asked._ **

 

**_“I need you to get in touch with someone…” He paused, letting her take the lead on the conversation._ **

 

**_“Who?”_ **

 

**_“Piper Wright… it seems that she knows more than she lets on.”_ **

 

**And now:**

 

Alice sighed for the upteempth time, trying to remain calm through the annoyance currently pestering her brain. No matter how many people she’d asked in the stirring city, no one seemed to know just where everybody’s favorite, nosey reporter had gone. At this point, Alice could have sworn that God was messing with her on an almost fundamental level. How could she just leave Diamond city, and not to mention her little sister, for any reason other than a scoop? Not to mention that whenever the merc asked, she was met with angry glares and judgemental stares. 

It didn’t surprise her though. Diamond city’s guards report had been made public, many still suspecting her of killing poor Missus Codman. Nevermind the fact that it hadn’t been her, and that people within the Brotherhood [Namely Arthur] had vouched for her. Nevermind the fact that it would have been impossible to sneak off the way they claim she had, and still be in bed by sunrise.  _ Nevermind the fact  _ that she  _ knew  _ that the following morning’s surgery would have been impossible to complete without a full eight hours sleep. 

Yeah… nevermind all of that. Disregard the facts and let the idiot mayor stir up a frenzy on nothing more than hearsay and a hunch. Sure, it was true - Alice was the only one in the Commonwealth still utilizing bows and arrows for her work. And sure, it was also true that she was almost constantly draped in a raven cloak to avoid recognition. But what managed to elude these people was the timing of it all. The apparent blame it would put on her. 

They really did believe her to be stupid enough to commit a murder on the  _ same day  _ as she’d previously been poking around in the city. It would just be plain idiotic to do so… but no one listened. The mayor had the city wrapped around his little finger, twisting and turning the people against her with deceitful whispers and sharp insults. 

His badmouthing had even reached Bunker Hill it seemed, as Alice wasn’t even able to walk around the area without being targeted by one person or the other. Be it raider or Kessler, the bullets just kept on flying through the air - aimed for  _ her  _ head. 

The merc approached Vadim at the bar, hoping that he would have some answers. “Yo.” She said, trying to catch his attention. “Rum and Nuka Cherry, please.” Alice took a seat on one of the stools, surveying the room for pointed stares. 

Luckily, the place seemed relatively quiet; with the notable exception of Edward Deegan sitting in the corner. To be honest, the ghoul could care less what she was up to… he himself was a merc, albeit working for a steady employer rather than take the occasional odd job here and there. 

She respected that. At some point, Alice wanted to be that person. Someone who could rely on just one man or woman handing her caps for her services instead of several. But the merc always was a fleeting woman, finding steady work to be too tedious for her refined tastes. 

_ Speaking of refined. _

Vadim placed the drink before her on the counter. “On your tab?” He asked, not waiting for her to answer. “Of course-”

“No… not on the tab.” She handed over fifty caps, which he raised his eyebrows at. “Too little?” 

“Hundred. Fifty for the drink and another fifty for the damage your client did on the place two months ago.” Alice didn’t have the energy to argue, despite the want to do so. The patron had gotten himself into that trouble on his own, but he’d stubbornly refused to compensate the brothers; which only left one person able to. She dug another fifty out of her cap stash, letting Vadim take it off her hands. He didn’t bother counting them though, which she sighed at. 

Now don’t misunderstand, she was an honest person… at least when it came to money… most of the time… sort of. The point was, Alice was an honest person when it came to money, but the reason for her relief wasn’t financially motivated - rather it was derived from knowing that there was at least one person in the city that McDonough hadn’t been able to pollute with his lies.  

She sipped on the refreshing alcoholic beverage, noticing only now the new edition to the establishment. A woman, fresh out of her teens, approached the bar with a worried expression on her face. Vadim quickly nodded to his brother, who lead her into the backroom. Alice knew better than to ask, but curiously killed the cat so to speak. 

“What’s that all about?” 

“Nothing to worry about.” He replied. “Just a patron that’s feeling ill. Like i said, nothing to worry about.” Vadim said, voice shrouded in a thick Russian accent and hoarse from years of smoking. Alice shrugged, deciding that the patron really wasn’t her problem. 

She looked around, Edward giving her a subtle nod in recognition. She did the same before turning back to the bartender. 

_ Now or never. _

“Hey, so I was wondering…” She started, tip-toeing around the issue. He poured himself a beer, chugging it enthusiastically. “You haven’t seen Piper by any chance?” The man chuckled and lit a cigarette, letting it dangle from the corner of his mouth as he spoke. 

“Maybe… depends on who’s asking… you or the Brotherhood?” Well… at least now she really did have a reason to go see McDonough. For the asshole to badmouth her to the people of Diamond City was one thing - badmouthing her to her clients and the bartenders was another entirely. 

Alice depended on these people to bring in the money, so if he were to suddenly suffocate her only source of income [apart from the caps that the Brotherhood paid her]... let’s just say, living on the streets can be a real menace. 

She grunted. “Not you too… I thought there was at least one person on my side… What a fucking pain in the ass.” He didn’t speak for a long while. Then he pushed another drink in front of her idle hands, refusing to take her caps. She cocked her eyebrow in suspicion, but accepted it nonetheless. 

Vadim cleared his throat. “Do you remember when you beat the living shit out of Butch?” Alice chuckled at the memory and turned in her stool; looking at the floor. 

“Yeah… it happened right over there.” 

“That it did.” The man scratched his chin. “You saved my life that day… Without you, I would have been dead. For a mercenary, you’re surprisingly warm blooded.” She smiled solemnly, filled with melancholy. Vadim offered her a cigarette, which she turned down; even to her own surprise. 

Wasn’t she dying for one?

“Trying to cut back… apparently they kill you.” Alice replied sheepishly. 

Vadim humphed. “That and everything else in this world.” He flicked the ashes off the cancerous stick, folding his arm underneath his torso - hanging across the bar. He leaned in closer, whispering quietly. “Goodneighbor… that’s where Piper is.” 

With a small “thank you”, Alice finished the rest of her drink, gave a humorous little bow and walked right out the front door. 

 

* * *

 

If there was one place in the Commonwealth that Alice truly felt at peace - it was Goodneighbor. The smell of a decade old urine, the taste of the watered down drinks down at the Third Rail and the overwhelming people that she sometimes wanted to just murder in cold blood. Yup… this place was peaceful indeed. 

Down to the poorly illuminated alley corners to the robberies and bloodstains on the cracked pavement. Alice took a deep breath, wondering just how welcome she was; now that she was part of the Brotherhood. She knew that Hancock had assured her that she was always welcomed in the mostly populated ghoul metropolis; anytime she wanted, but that still didn’t soften her inhibitions. 

Alice was at least glad that no one bothered to listen to McDonough, with his slurs and backtalk, mostly because a majority of the population in Goodneighbor had been given the boot from Diamond City once the secretive man had come to power. 

Despite her weariness, she needed to find Piper. And there was something else she desperately needed. To find out who the hell had tried to frame her. But Alice had no leads, no suspects and no evidence. Even if she found the culprit, it would be nigh on impossible to prove their involvement in Ann’s murder. 

However, for the sake of justice - Alice needed to find them. If she couldn’t get them to confess, she would at least have fun picking them apart piece by piece; as if though she was a deranged surgeon or mechanic. 

The issue with today’s situation was figuring out whether or not someone actually was a synth. Before the Institute’s apparent leg up, the first generations were as dumb as boards and as ugly as a buffalo’s behind - only doing as their masters commanded. 

Over time, the Institute grew too greedy, hungry for power, and ended up making the biggest mistakes of their lives. The gen 3’s. Not because they were abominations, like so many in the Brotherhood expressed them to be. No, because they gave the synths something resembling humanity. And the most basic human wish - is the wish for freedom. 

Mankind would rather go extinct than give up their freedom it would seem, judging by the state of the world. Some days Alice wondered why she bothered to get out of bed… but then she remembered what she was doing here. 

_ Gotta stay focused, you nutter,  _ She told herself. The merc rounded the corner, almost bumping face first into the mayor himself. Alice took a step back, still slightly taken aback by surprise. 

“John.” She said, face no longer holding the calm she’d once possessed. “Just the person I wanted to see.” 

He chuckled in a deeply raspy tone. “Well here I am, sunshine. What’cha need?” 

“Have you seen Piper?” Hancock shrugged. 

“Maybe a few hours ago… can’t be sure. I ain’t exactly sober, if you catch my drift.” Yeah… high as a kite was more like it. She could see it in his posture, how it changed slightly from upright to slumped. Most people wouldn’t… but Alice had been around him enough to be able to deduce even which drug he was on. 

Mentats… which totally fucked with his head most days. 

Alice shook her head. “Yeah, I got it. So do you know where I might find her? I sorta really need to find her. It’s important.” She thought back to the conversation between her and the Elder.

_ “Why would you say that Piper knows more than she lets on?” She asked, weary of the answer.  _

_ Arthur sipped on some whiskey. “If you really think about it… isn’t it obvious?” Alice shook her head, laughing. But when she saw the Elder’s serious look, she stopped. “She’s involved in this somehow… I just don’t know how. Miss Wright knows something about the Railroad, whether she likes to admit it or not.”  _

_ Alice snorted. “So what do you want me to do? Track her down and torture the information out of her?” She laughed sarcastically, waiting for the man to contradict her statement. He never did, which made her realize the severity of the situation.  _

_ They wanted the Railroad found - and he wanted Alice to do it by any means necessary.  _

To be honest, the merc was already supposed to give away the Railroad’s location, as per her agreement with the masked strange-

_ Wait… The stranger!  _

Alice cursed herself for not remembering her employer sooner. Even if the Railroad had packed up and went elsewhere - the Institute still must know where they are. So with a quick apology to the mayor and with a sincere apology, she went out into the alley - waiting for a miracle. 

 

* * *

 

Alice absolutely loathed sitting on her behind and do nothing, while the answers were within reach. She’d decided hours ago to leave Piper out of it all - mostly because it could get bad at one point or the other, and with a little sister at home to feed and care for; the reporter couldn’t afford to take any chances regarding her own safety. 

So the merc sat atop a crate in the alley, waiting for the Institute agent to come stalking out of the shadows at any second now; asking her rudely what the fuck she was doing just sitting around. But nothing happened… 

So after four hours of waiting, Alice picked herself up, dusted herself off and went back to work to find Piper. It wasn’t hard, despite the reporters vast efforts to conceal her footsteps. Goodneighbor was a crevasse of gossip, one rumor more outrageous than the other. 

Alice stalked the halls of the Third Rail, heading for the backroom. As she approached the small room, the blonde merc heard voices debating heatedly. 

“Seriously, Mac! I need to find her! She could be in danger, for fucks sake!” She heard Piper yell out, trying to contain her anger. 

Someone sighed deeply. “Look, Pipes… I don’t do those sort of contracts. If you want to find her, you’re going to have to talk someone who specializes in those sort of missions. I’m sorry, Piper. I really am, but I can’t help you.” 

Alice rounded the corner, watching from the shadows as Miss Wright slammed her open hand into the table between the two. “This is my sister we’re talking about, MacCready! I need to find her! She’s in danger.” 

The blonde stepped out, interrupting Mac before he could speak. “Nat’s gone?” 

Two heads whipped around, finding the owner of the raspy alto voice; one looking more surprised than the other. Mac seemed happy to see her - but Piper had a totally different look on her face. 

“If it isn’t the Brotherhood sneaking around Goodneighbor. So… how does it feel to get away with Ann’s murder?” She asked snarkily. Alice frowned deeply, eyeing the reporter up and down. 

“Out of all the people of Diamond City, Piper, I’d think that _you’d_ at least see through McDonough’s bullshit accusations. Those allegations are completely bogus…” The raven-haired woman humphed in response. 

“Yeah, right… Because you’re  _ not  _ the only person out there who uses a bow and arrows.” Somehow, Alice thanked the lucky stars that her and Piper’s relationship hadn’t exactly been good before; and left it at that. She didn’t have to explain herself to the snooty woman - who was acting all high and mighty. 

“Probably, yes.” Alice replied, cocking her hips. “Which is why it’s ten times easier to frame me for murder. I have an alibi, not that it’s any of your business.” 

“So the Brotherhood backs you up, huh? I suppose you’re gonna tell me that you’re a ‘changed woman’, and whatnot?” Piper made air quotes in a mocking manner, making Alice’s blood boil in her veins. 

“Not really. I’m the same as I was before, you entitled bitch.” She replied, watching as the other woman was visibly taken aback. “Once a merc, always a merc. I only joined the Brotherhood for the education.” She lied, not wishing to involve the black-haired woman in her own personal affairs - especially not those involving everyone’s favorite boogeyman. 

Mac rose, standing between the two. “Look, I don’t want any trouble here. Alright?” He asked, turning his head to face the two. Alice snorted. 

“Whatever.” The female merc retorted. “I still maintain my innocence. I did  _ not  _ kill Ann. Someone’s trying to frame me for murder, and I’m willing to bet that it’s the same person that kidnapped Nat. Have they made any demands?” She asked Piper. 

“Yes, but it’s not your concern.” 

Alice shrugged. “I’m a mercenary… You could hire me to find her.” 

Miss Wright shook her head, indicating a hard no. “Not gonna happen, Alice. I don’t trust you.” 

The merc smirked. “Suit yourself. It’s not gonna stop me from looking for the bag of asses that put me in this situation.” 

“Your fees are exorbitant.” The raven replied, sighing in defeat; sadness clear on her face. “Even if I did hire you, I wouldn’t be able to afford it.” She said. 

That’s when Alice remembered why she was really in Goodneighbor. “I’d hold the fees for you.” Even MacCready raised a brow at her words. Alice shook her head. “But you have to give me something other than caps in return.” 

“Depends.” Piper replied in great suspicion. “What do you need?” 

“Information… on the Railroad.” 

The raven-haired woman shook her head. “Absolutely not. The Brotherhood would kill them all.” Alice shook her head, trying to convince the reporter. 

“I’m not asking on behalf of the Brotherhood, Piper. I’m asking because they’ve kidnapped my friend. I just want to find him and bring him home.” Her amber eyes suddenly went soft in understanding. 

There was an air of uncertainty. “I…” She paused. “I can’t just give out information on them.” 

“I just need to know where they are. I won’t share that information with the Brotherhood. I just want to find Nate. I’ll go alone-” The reporter cut her off. 

“Wait… the Railroad has Nathan?” She asked curiously. “Why?” 

Alice shrugged again. “I have no clue why. All I know is that he needed to find them to get some answers. Nate and Danse went looking for them, but when they got to the church… everyone was dead. I think it’s all staged and that the Railroad is still out there. Danse was knocked unconscious and Nate was taken somewhere.” 

“That doesn’t sound like them…” She trailed off. Mac nodded in agreement. 

“Far from actually. Sounds more like the Institute.” Alice shook her head. 

“We’re working that angle as well, but it’s far more likely that it was the Railroad.” She continued to explain. “Nate needed information on his son… and on the merc that took him. Nick Valentine thinks that the Institute kidnapped Shaun from the vault, took him to the Institute and collected his pay. I tracked him down a few weeks ago, on behalf of the Railroad, and handed over the information they needed - information that Nate also has need of.” Piper raised her brows higher. 

“You’re saying that they’re not at the church anymore?” Alice nodded. “Then I’m sorry. I don’t know where they are.” 

The merc frowned deeper. “That’s a shame. In that case, good luck with your sister…” 

Piper snorted. “So that’s it, huh? You’re not gonna help?” Had she been a good hearted person, Alice probably would have. But she didn’t know what kind of person she was anymore. 

She’d went against so many of her moral codes and rules that she wasn’t even sure if her core - the one thing that made her into the one she was - was even there. 

She sighed. “I…” Alice didn’t know what to say. She was at a complete loss for words. “I don’t work for free.” 

“Fine. If you’re not gonna help-”

“How about this-” She started. “If you find any information regarding the Railroad’s new whereabouts, you come to me. If there’s so much as a whisper about Nate, you come talk to me. Or leave it with Vadim. Just make sure to not blab about it to anyone else.” She nodded vigorously. 

So the two women set out, searching for the lost child and the Knight. 

 

* * *

 

They’d been walking for hours through Diamond City, unsure of what to do. They still had no leads and were basically just treading water in a vast ocean. Alice was forced into the new mindset… 

Finding Nat and Nathan might very well be impossible. 

But the merc refused to give up now, having come so far. Quite by accident, after three hours of aimless walking, they happened upon a terrified drifter. Alice stopped, listening in on the conversation. 

“-I’m telling you, the synths were just shooting high and low. It was a fucking bloodbath!” The merc spun around, walking right up to the male drifter. 

“Where?” She curtly asked, not even bothering introducing herself. 

“What’s it to you, killer?” Alice cursed McDonough for even setting foot on this earth at all. His mindless slander had reached even the most remote corners of Boston; probably with the help of the caravans. 

She shook her head. “I didn’t kill Ann. I’ve been exonerated. So tell me where the bloodbath happened, and I might be convinced not to break your fingers for your fucking accusations.” The man visibly swallowed, not seeming so tough now that Alice was threatening him. 

“What the fuck?” He finally exclaimed. “I could go to Diamond City security and have you thrown out for such a-” The merc leaned in close, azure eyes burning with a firey passion. 

“That’s not what I asked you to do, now was it?” The man swallowed again, shaking his head feverishly. “So I suggest you sing like a fucking canary, before I decide to break your hands too.” Piper tugged the corner of her coat. 

“Jesus, blue.” She yelled. “Enough. It’s none of our concern anyway.” Alice shrugged her off. 

“Monsignor Plaza. Institute synths showed up and wiped the place clean. I saw the whole thing from behind a dumpster.” It was as she suspected, and had hoped.  _ If  _ they were still there, chances were they could point her to Winter. 

“Thank you very much, kind sir.” She brushed off some dirt from the man’s shoulder. “You’ve been most helpful.” Alice walked away without giving him time to explain himself. Piper followed closely behind. 

“What the fuck, Alice? Why would you do that? You know that I-” 

“We need to part ways.” She cut the reporter off. The wind took up, blowing wildly into her face. Through the mask, Alice could have sworn that the air had been carried by the sea; tasting strongly of salt. 

Piper shook her head. “No, I need to be there-”

“This is not a matter up for debate, Miss Wright. I have personal matters to attend to. If the Institute took your sister, high chances are that one of the synth’s might know. And if not, they would have brought a courser.” 

“All the more reason to bring me along!” She protested. Alice shook her head once again. 

“No. I’m going on my own, and that’s not up for debate. I’ll come find you when I have Nat.” She once again didn’t bother listening to her lamenting howls, instead walking towards the entrance of the city. 

 

* * *

 

The moon hung high on the sky when she found the Plaza - completely empty. Alice cursed her luck, wondering if the drifter had lied. But when voices could be heard, ringing out loudly, she followed his example - and hid behind a dumpster. 

“X6-88, ready to relay al-” She dashed out from her hiding place and was met by a raised gun. She raised her hands in a submissive gesture. 

“I’m not looking for trouble.” Alice exuded calmness she wasn’t even sure she could muster in this moment. “I’m looking for Winter.” 

The courser raised a brow underneath his sunglasses. “Your designation?” He asked. 

Alice shrugged. “Don’t have one. I’m an informant, not a synth. I need to know how to find her.” 

The courser shook his head, shifting his weight from one leg to the other. “That won’t be possible, I’m afraid. If Winter wishes to speak to you, she’ll contact you.” 

“I understand… I just need to know where to find the Railroad so that the Brotherhood can destroy them.” He looked puzzled at first, completely oblivious. “It was part of my contract.” She informed him. 

Suddenly, the cogs in his head started spinning. “I understand. You’re Alice, then?” 

“The one and only.” She replied. “So where can I find the Railroad?” The courser didn’t immediately reply. He just stood around, waiting it seemed. Then he pointed to the building he’d just exited. 

“Ticonderoga… one of their safehouses.” She waited for him to explain further. “It’s the only one I know of.” 

“So are they still there?” 

He didn’t change his expression. “No… they’re all gone now.”

“Do you know where they might have gone?” 

“To hell.” 

Alice understood. They’d been completely wiped out by the courser, probably with the help of some of his Institute buddies. She sighed in annoyance, cursing the Institute for the umpteenth time for causing her trouble. 

“Just tell Winter that I need to speak with her urgently. If she doesn’t get back to me, I can’t complete the mission.” The courses nodded and stepped into the light of the moon. Afro-American, dressed in a black uniform and wearing sunglasses. He looked quite young, but then again… it was hard to know when it came to synths. 

They were created in a lab, not in a womb. Age was irrelevant to them. 

He nodded. “I’ll relay the information, ma’am. Winter should get back to you soon.” Alice bobbed her head up and down in acknowledgment, passing him by. She still needed to find Nat. 

 

* * *

 

Eventually, Alice ended up in Diamond City again, finally having figured out who was to blame. 

When the doors opened, she was met by McDonough’s secretary, sitting by her desk - despite the late hour. She peeked up, looking at the new edition to the office. 

“Miss Alice.” Geneva greeted. “What can I do for you?” 

“I need to speak to the mayor.” 

“I see.” She started. “Well, I can’t allow it. The mayor is sleeping. You’ll just have to come back at a decent time and not in the middle of the night.” Alice hadn’t come this far just to be sent packing by a snooty bitch on the other side of a desk. 

She leaned in, making sure that the secretary was listening. “Get - me - the - mayor. Or I’ll have the Brotherhood busting through the doors with machine guns and power armor. So unless you wanna dig bullets out of the wall until next year; I’d suggest waking him.” Geneva frowned, but pushed the button underneath her desk. 

“Of course, Miss Alice. Just make sure not to cause any trouble. The guards-” She waved the woman off, dashing past her. 

McDonough was certainly not sleeping. He was sitting by his desk, overlooking the city with a sandwich in hand. He turned to face her. Then he pushed a button to the intercom. 

“Geneva, close the door.” The woman did as she was told, closing the gateway shut behind her. Alice smirked. “What can I do for you?” He snarled in response. 

“You and I have some things to discuss, rat bastard.” He was about to protest her inappropriately, but she cut him off. “Zip it, bitch. I didn’t come here to have a pleasant chat over a cup of tea…” 

“So why have you come?” He asked angrily. 

“You’re going to go before the city tomorrow and tell them that you were wrong about me. You’re going to absolve me of all guilt, because we both know that I wasn’t the guilty party here. I’ve had some time to look through it all… and I’ve come to a rather fucked up conclusion.” 

He shrugged and shook his head at the same time. “And what conclusion is that?” 

“That you have Nat Wright hidden somewhere. Now before you say ‘that’s preposterous’, think really hard before you lie to me. I’m not a force to be reckoned with. I know what you’ve done - I even know why. Now, if you tell the city that you were wrong about me and return Nat, then I won’t tell Piper what you’ve done. The woman is notorious for slandering you in her newspaper. Another article about you might very well seal your fate - not to mention the mob that would follow you around. Should these accusations turn out to be true, then you’re in deep shit. But I don’t think that Diamond City is the only unhappy mob you have to deal with.” He didn’t answer, confirming her suspicions. “You have until tomorrow to return the little girl or you’re in deep shit, you sick little puppy.” 

“And if I refuse your offer?” 

“Like I said… Diamond City isn’t the only unhappy mob you have to deal with. The Institute doesn’t take lightly to fuck ups. Remember that.” She left, feeling a sense of control and accomplishment that she hadn’t felt in months. 

 

* * *

 

Across the river running through Commonwealth, a weary and exhausted man stumbled upon the Cambridge police station with broken shoes and the taste of blood in his mouth. He walked, every breath feeling like icepicks digging holes into his lungs. 

A Knight on watch noticed the man, yelling out. “Priors! Paladin, it’s Priors!” His head poked through the door, alerting the entire force occupying the station to the new presence on the premise. 

Out from the door flew a half dressed Paladin, arms of the uniform tied securely around his waist. Danse didn’t bother calling for a doctor, instead he ran across the courtyard, embracing his friend. 

Nate still seemed lost, still not completely sure how he’d gotten there. 

After Desdemona had injected him with a sedative, he could only recall bits and pieces. He knew that they’d dropped him off somewhere close to Sanctuary a few days back. He’d walked through the Commonwealth, still groggy from the drugs, searching for the Brotherhood. 

As Danse held the Knight’s tired body upright; shouting out commands - Nate exhaled, remembering the ultimatum they’d given him. 

_ “Find the spy - or you’ll never get Kellogg’s memories.”  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow… I know, right XD Nate’s hasn’t been with the Railroad for days. What a shocker. I suppose that a lot of what happened in the chapter was a little bit of a surprise. Especially the part about Nat being kidnapped and McDonough being behind it, but come one… seriously… if you look back, it’s pretty obvious that that guy is shifty. For those of you who’ve completed the quest “In sheep's clothing”, you probably know just how shifty he is. XD. Anyways, thank you all so much for reading! Until next time, JA NE!


	16. A kiss, dear Alice.

When the news of Nathan Prior’s sudden reappearance at Cambridge police station reached Alice, she was halfway to the airport. She’d stopped by at the Bunker Hill monument, content in simply watching the day unfold. The former merc had spun around quickly, instead heading in the opposite direction; towards the station.

She’d also gotten wind of a certain girl having safely returned to the city via one of the caravans as she was found close to the city gates. Alice smirked, knowing that the mayor had taken her threats seriously. 

The man had yet to inform the city that the accusations he’d made regarding herself were entirely unfounded, but Alice reminded herself one step at a time. The mayor would eventually budge under her pressure, deciding that his pride was far easier to nurse than facing the Institute’s wrath.

All in all, it had been a great day so far. Alice walked through the streets of Boston, carefree and happy for once. She set out for the station, deciding that meeting Nate again would do them both good. 

She reached Cambridge by noon, finding the entire site closed down for some unknown reason. She arched a brow, but decided to ignore the barriers, jumping over them. At that very second, someone approached her with a gloom expression. 

“The barriers are there for a reason.” He snootily called out. 

Alice shrugged. “So? I’m a Scribe with the Brotherhood. It’s not like you can keep me out.” She tried to pass by him and into the building, but his outstretched palm connected with her ribs. 

“Scribe or not, no one is allowed to enter. You better turn around and head back to the airport. I’m sure that Quinlan has-” She cut him off with a daring chuckle. “What’s so funny, Scribe?” 

“Just the fact that Proctor Quinlan isn’t my supervisor. Cade is. I’m a medical Scribe, not a field researcher. Now let me through - or watch me dance around you.” He shook his head. 

“ _ No one  _ enters the police station. Elder Maxson’s orders. Not even you, Scribe.” 

“Is he in there?” 

“Yes, however-” 

She did as she’d said, spinning around him gracefully and sprinted towards the door. In the next second, her palm connected with the hard wooden door so forcefully she feared that she may have given her  _ hand  _ a concussion. 

When all of her was inside, she slammed the door shut - right in the guard’s face. She didn’t bother apologizing, instead clamping her feat as she walked to make her disdain known. 

Around a table in the foyer - Nathan Priors sat, more broken than she’d ever seen him. Alice caught his eyes, watching the brown flame he usually carried had all but burnt out. He was so small and broken, sitting slumped over; nursing a can of purified water. 

“Ellinor?” He called out. Alice cringed at the sound of her christian name, but nodded nonetheless. “It’s good to see you again.” 

She sniggered. “Likewise, Nathan.” 

Elder Maxson was made aware of the new presence in the room, throwing a menacing glare her way. Alice mimicked his expression down to a fine point. 

“Miss Kingsley. You’re not permitted to be in here. I told the guard not to let  _ anyone  _ through.” 

She crossed her arms on her torso, cocking her hips to the side; giving off a very disapproving look. “I wanted to say hello to Nate. And to hitch a ride back to the Prydwen.” 

“Well, now you have. I suggest you get out of here before-” Alice strode across the floor, standing eerily close to the man. 

“Before what, Maxson?” She sneered deeply. He was taken aback by her sudden outburst of rage, but stood his ground nonetheless. Arthur wasn’t going to back down just because the woman looked a little bit threatening. 

_ I’m the Alpha here _ , he reminded himself. 

“Before I have you forcefully removed, Scribe Kingsley. You ignored the guard outside, you have the audacity to disrespect me and disobey my direct orders and-” She cut him off by simply walking away from the conversation, straight towards the Knight. 

She embraced him quickly, the scene reminding him of a family moment. As if the Knight was her dad and Alice was his young, frightened daughter searching for comfort from her father. Eventually, she backed away, gave a salute and met his gaze. 

“I apologize for my behavior, Elder. Rest assured, it will not happen again. I just needed to make sure Nate was okay. How long will this take?” He was surprised at her sudden submission, but glad nevertheless that she decided not to stir up a fight. 

He raised his chin. “However long it takes, Miss Kingsley.” She suddenly grew very calm, almost as if though she was remorseful, which seemed strange. As far as Arthur knew, Alice had never exhibited any sign of remorse before.  

The woman played on his heartstrings as though she was plucking a harp - dancing through the fire of his soul, as though she was born to do it. And she went in for the kill, like a lioness. Calculating… waiting. 

“I understand.” She eventually replied. “May I at least go up to the roof to catch a ride back to the ship?” She gestured towards the corridor leading up to said roof. 

Arthur nodded in reply. “Yes, you may. When we return to the Prydwen, I expect to see you in my office, Scribe Kingsley. Such insubordination must be punished.” She nodded, not sure if she liked the way he said it. 

Almost ominous, she thought. 

“As you wish, Elder. I’ll be in my bed, sleeping off this wicked withdrawal.” 

“You’ve been using chems?” He asked, voice stern and disapproving. 

Alice shook her head. “No… just a sleep withdrawal.” Without another word, she saluted and disappeared out of his line of vision. 

Arthur stood still on the spot, unsure of how to react to her gross insubordination. On one hand, he occasionally enjoyed being challenged; as backwards as that sounded… simply because it meant that he could feel like a common soldier again. Aboard the ship, no one dared disobey him - but Alice was different in so many ways. 

On the other hand - her disregard for the rules and guidelines the Brotherhood had set; made the man furious. She wasn’t just stepping over the line. She skipped giddily across, picked it up and jumped ropes with it. 

She disappeared behind the corner, soft footsteps echoing through the halls as she stepped up the stairs. 

He sighed wearily, wondering when this nightmare would end. The Elder turned back to the Knight, offering him another can of purified water. 

“So, Priors.” He began. “Where were we?” 

“Desdemona.” 

“Ah, yes. The leader of the Railroad. You were saying how she wanted something from you in return for Kellogg’s memories.” The man became strangely withdrawn - despite having sung like a pre-war bird just moments ago. 

_ This could not bode well. _

“Yes…” Nathan trailed off, unsure of how to proceed. “But you’re not going to like it.” 

“Short of you blowing the Prydwen out of the sky, or harming the Brotherhood in any way; I’m not going to protest.” Nate hesitated - glancing over at the Paladin. Danse ushered him to continue. 

“Well… it might harm the Brotherhood a little… but it’s nothing permanent. Besides, it might do us good at this point.” Arthur confessed to not understanding the man’s cryptic speech pattern, but understood to some degree that it couldn’t be good. 

“Very well… let’s hear it.” 

Nate sighed deeply. “There’s an Institute spy within the ranks… but that’s not who Desdemona wanted me to find - not exactly anyhow.” Maxson’s brows shot up, mouth gaping like a fish. 

“Then who?” Danse asked when the Elder failed to form a proper sentence. 

“We’re not setting out to find one possible spy… we’re going to have to find two.” 

 

* * *

 

Alice lay down in her bunk, thanking the lucky stars that she’d gotten out of there before shit could hit the fan. Despite her vows to go straight to the rooftop, curiosity had gotten the better of the woman - who had stayed behind for a short time; listening to her fellow soldiers through the cracks of the wall. 

She’d been there when Nate had revealed to the Elder the real reason behind his captors mercy. The Railroad had let him go - so that he could sniff the rat out… So he could catch Malachite… and herself. 

Alice knew that something had to give at some point, she only wished that she was long gone by then. The merc hated herself for accepting the deal Winter had to offer in the first place. But a cushy life without the Brotherhood hunting for her head and the Institute creepily following her every footstep from the shadows sounded like music to her ears. 

She tried getting some sleep, but found that it had abandoned her. It was true what she’d told the Elder… she was tired enough to fall asleep standing up. But when Nate had spoken, all signs of exhaustion had been wiped away like broken trees down a flooded river. 

Alice just couldn’t seem to catch a break - and realized that she was in more danger now than ever. Nate had been a detective before the war, one of the best. If he was able to somehow find out who she really was, she was screwed. 

At least she could rest easy, knowing that McDonough had been true to his word. He’d finally released a statement, exonerating her completely. Nat had also settled in nicely, but denied that she knew who had taken her in the first place. 

Perhaps she really didn’t know who it had been. The young girl was pretty disoriented when she’d been found at the outskirts of the city after all. Maybe, McDonough had never actually showed his face, opting to stay hidden behind a barrage of mercenaries. 

Alice made a silent vow to visit the city again, to get all the facts straight. Nat may not remember McDonough, but chances were that she still remembered the people whom she’d been in direct contact with. Being the sister of a reporter, there was no way that Nat would have just flushed that information out of her brain. 

The blonde merc was rudely interrupted by a Scribe… the same one who’d fetched her a few days ago - after the operation. 

“What is that, asshole day?” Alice rudely remarked. “So, you’re what… the Elder’s personal bitch?” She snarled out. 

The Scribe didn’t reply verbally, but the blush on her face said it all. Yeah… she’d definitely banged the young Elder. Alice smirked. 

“Not at all, Scribe Kingsley.” The other woman eventually answered. “Elder Maxson has demanded your presence in his quarters.” Alice picked herself out of bed, stalking gloomily over to the front of the ship; ignoring a distressed Scribe’s frantic callings, denying the merc’s claims. 

Alice stomped right into the office/bedroom, not bothering knocking. She sort of wished that she had. Within seconds of opening the door, Alice noted exactly two things. 

One; the papers on his desk had previously been neatly stacked, but were now in a disarray on the floor. 

And two; the Elder was already occupied with his tongue down another woman’s throat. 

They both parted, breaking away from one another at the speed of light when the sound of the door swinging open caught their attention. Maxson wiped his lips of saliva and the woman blushed with great fervour.

Alice smirked at catching the Elder red handed. “Don’t let me interrupt the party.” She closed the door behind her. “I must confess, I’ve never had a threesome with another woman before, but I’m excited-” She didn’t even finish the sentence before the brunette woman was out the door. 

The Elder didn’t look to pleased with the merc’s actions, frowning deeply - lips swollen and red. 

“You do not enter without hearing a verbal reply, Miss Kingsley.” 

Her smirk deepened. “Oh, sorry. I thought the moaning was a reply.” 

Maxson still frowned, deepening it. “Sit down, Scribe.” Alice did as instructed, planting her behind on one of the chairs. He sat down just across from her, one palm on the table - with the other arm resting across the back of the chair. “I wanted to discuss this afternoon.” He curtly said. 

“Is that so?” She replied in a sinister chime. “Well, I think that you and I both-” 

“You’re on bedpan duty for a month.” 

Alice raised her brows in surprise. While the Elder certainly was that - an Elder - Alice had never seen him as such. He’d always been lenient with her insubordination, simply pulling her aside for a firm talk rather than an actual punishment. 

And this one was grim. Cleaning out puke and whatnot from the bedpans was not something anyone wanted to do, no matter how long they’d been doctors. 

“What?” She shouted in disbelief. “Like hell I am.” 

He gritted his teeth. “That wasn’t a request,  _ Scribe. _ I informed you that you would be punished for you disobeying my orders.” Alice rose, waving her hands in great gestures. 

“I thought you were joking… or you know… wasn’t serious. You’ve never punished me before. I’ve done far worse-” He cut her off by raising his hand. 

“I am the Elder.” 

“Oh wow, you figure that out all by yourself? Do you want a medal, Mister Elder? Perhaps I should bake a cake to celebrate your glorious discovery?” She sarcastically yelled, both in anger and exasperation. 

Maxson was infuriated. “I will not stand for this level of insubordination, Miss Kingsley. If you do not stop, the punishment will be far more severe!” He yelled, slamming his palm into the table and standing up. 

She snorted. “What are you gonna do? Throw me in the brig for a week?” 

“A month.” He replied, stunning her further. 

“You’re out of your fucking mind,  _ Maxson. _ ” She spat, angrier than a hive of bees. “When I joined, I informed you that I like myself the way I am; and you promised not to try to change me! So you’re going back on your promise!” He raised a finger in the air, pointing at her. 

“ _ You  _ promised me your loyalty,  _ Scribe!  _ You took an oath.” 

“So just because  _ you  _ didn’t take an oath, it all of a sudden means that you don’t have to adhere to the spoken agreement we made?” She screamed back. Arthur opened his mouth to speak, but stopped himself in his tracks. He paced to and fro, each time trying to find the right words. 

He took a breath hastily before continuing. “ _ You.”  _ He pointed at Alice “-are the most infuriating, stubborn, uncompromising, unpleasant, bat-shit crazy woman that I have ever met. You think you have the right to choose which orders you follow and which to ignore, and I will not have it! You are a Scribe in the Brotherhood of Steel, which means that  _ my word  _ is your law!” He yelled, reminding her of a sulking five year old throwing a temper tantrum. 

“Boo-frickin’-hoo.” She countered. “You think that just because you shout, people will listen? Spoiler alert; they don’t. You think that you can run around yelling like a little boy, expecting everyone to obey… well guess what - that’s not how the world works, Maxy. So why don’t you take that piss poor attitude and your delusions of grandeur and stick them where the sun don’t shine; because I’m done with your bullshit.” She turned around, ready to give him some time to cool off - when Arthur did something completely unexpected. 

He grabbed her hand, tugged on her wrist hard, spun her around - and kissed her until her knees went weak. Alice was so surprised that she didn’t even register what had happened. All she knew, and all she felt, was his presence overflowing her. His warm, chapped lips against her own; tongue darting out of his mouth and into hers. 

Maxson pulled her closer, holding her tightly in his embrace. With one arm flung around her waist and the other at the nape of her neck - he held her steadily. Even if she wanted to run, there was no way to escape. She felt everything.

His chiseled chest pressed against her, the strong arms embracing her like an anaconda and the wetness of his tongue dancing passionately with her own. She snapped out of her shock and draped one arm around his neck - the other resting snugly on his arm. 

There was a sharp rap to the door. Arthur straightened out, let the woman go and took a deep breath to calm his jumping pulse. Alice did the same, making sure to look presentable. 

Maxson grabbed her arm, forcing her to look back. “We’re still not done with this conversation… I’ll come find you once I’m done here.” 

“No you won’t.” She stated. 

“What?” He asked angrily. 

“Once you realize how petty you were being, you’ll let this whole matter go.” Alice said, more confident now than ever. “I won’t end up in the brig or on bedpan duty. If you know what’s smart and rational - you’ll know not to go look for me. I’m nothing but trouble.” 

He desperately wanted to know what she’d meant, but let the issue slide for now. Alice - while crass and immature - was right… Arthur felt petty. He knew that a promise had been made, one he intended to keep. 

Maxson let the woman slide out of his grip like sand through his fingers; watching her alluring figure as she scurried off. 

 

* * *

 

Alice hadn’t meant to get caught up in the moment… certainly not to return the man’s advances. True, Winter had made her a deal… one that required her to make the Elder fall haplessly for the young mercenary.

But… 

Alice didn’t trust Winter - or Maxson. 

No matter how much she wanted to, it just wasn’t a possibility. Arthur was a good man deep down, but his twisted morals and God complex left him broken and dangerous. His stupidity could very well lead to the Commonwealth going up in flames. 

She could still feel his lips lingering on hers as she touched them featherlight with her fingers; trailing every inch. She didn’t deny that it had felt good… Lord knows it. 

But… 

It was wrong. 

Everything was just so damn wrong.

The metal clanking of power armor boots against solid steel grew louder by the second, until a pair of feet stopped right in front of her. Alice looked up, spotting the Knight insignia, the laser rifle and the person’s head - covered in a helmet. 

“Miss Kingsley… follow me.” 

 

* * *

 

Arthur had barely sat back down before Danse came busting through the doors. 

“Elder Maxson.” He shouted, slightly out of breath. 

“What is it, Paladin?” Arthur asked, still infuriated by his previous company. 

“We’ve captured the spy.” 

“Where are they?” He asked in disbelief. 

“She’s down on the Command Deck.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First order of business is to clear up why there haven’t been any updates on this fic since June. 
> 
> Well, first of all - my sister had a baby, so I’m an aunt again and I’ve been spending a lot of time with her and the newborn (we’re a very close-knit family). Secondly, I’ve been busy with work - and had to do a lot of overtime. Thirdly was the fact that someone tried to break into my car and broke the window. Luckily they didn’t steal anything, but they did manage to scratch up the side pretty good. Then - as if that wasn’t enough - my computer had some motherboard issues and I’ve had to replace it with a brand new one (As well as a new graphics card and some USB ports). I think it was the thunderstorm a few weeks ago that totally fried the circuits TT^TT. Sufficed to say, Magnolia was not happy. 
> 
> Then there’s my mental health that’s been a little bit shaky since you last heard from me. It’s nothing serious, it’s just a slight depression that set in unexpectedly. I’ve been having some physical health problems as well, with my allergy medicine suddenly deciding to crap out completely. I’ve had to switch between a couple of ones and for those of you who eat those kinds of pills - I’m sure you can relate to the tiredness that comes with it. 
> 
> Luckily for me though, things are starting to turn around ^^ I’m hoping to have a new chapter out by next week (Once again - don’t quote me on that) depending on current and future situations. 
> 
> Thank you for your support, your comments and your kudos’! Just reading through them gives me enough inspiration to continue writing! I’m sorry to leave you with a cliffhanger, but it serves a greater purpose - promise ;) 
> 
> So thank you all! 
> 
> Until next time, JA NE!


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